Bird feeder ideas

[2LaneCruzer]

Nice job. The problem I had with the bird feeders was that the birds were knocking seed onto the ground which was attracting rats and mice.

Yeah, that happens constantly. I think the community feral cats keep the varmints down, although the squirrels, doves and turkeys keep the seed on the ground cleaned up pretty well. I feed a mix of sunflower seed and hen scratch, and if I get the ratio of scratch too high, they do kick a lot of it out.

 

[dalola]

We keep all of our feeders (about a dozen..) under a couple maple trees about 50' off the back deck. A bird feeding station, if you will. We have a variety of mounts...mostly hooks hanging from tree branches. It's far enough away to not worry about the mess, but close enough to easily see. Also keep a couple ear corn feeders for the squirrels. Fun to watch with my morning coffee.

 

[rekees4300]

View attachment 664831
Built these tonight. Need to grind down some crappy welds and paint them and I’ll see how they do!

They are pretty but since they're built at a 45 degree angle, squirrels will easily climb them. :squirrel:

 

[JHurt]

They are pretty but since they're built at a 45 degree angle, squirrels will easily climb them. :squirrel:

Its weird, we have squirrels in the yard, but I have NEVER seen them on the deck, or getting into the bird feeders. I do have ears of corn out on a couple of trees in the yard, so maybe they just prefer that. I also only fill my feeders with nyjer seed, so maybe they don't care for that either.

 

[rekees4300]

Its weird, we have squirrels in the yard, but I have NEVER seen them on the deck, or getting into the bird feeders. I do have ears of corn out on a couple of trees in the yard, so maybe they just prefer that. I also only fill my feeders with nyjer seed, so maybe they don't care for that either.

I feed Nyger seed to the Gold Finches, squirrels don't like the small seed. The Woodpecker suet feeders and regular bird feeders are another story. Use regular bird seed mixed with sunflower seed for those and the squirrels love both. In the Winter have seen as many as 12 squirrels partaking in their "buffet" but this time of year normally see 2 or 3. I enjoy watching them, the gymnastics they can do in the trees limbs is amazing. I've tried ears of corn but the raccoons steal it during their nightly raids. This place is a ZOO!

 

[PILOON]

Friend likes to feed birds.
Problem is he's near a pond and the mallard family's like to drop in.
City wanted him to regulate the mallards as they created traffic problems.
LOL, friend told the city to issue tickets to the ducks.

 

[rekees4300]

Friend likes to feed birds.
Problem is he's near a pond and the mallard family's like to drop in.
City wanted him to regulate the mallards as they created traffic problems.
LOL, friend told the city to issue tickets to the ducks.

We have a 1 acre pond and the various ducks come and go. Never attempted to feed them since they are truly wild and take off instantly when a human is sighted. Geese are a different story, they use the pond to raise their young for several weeks in the Spring. Their "feed" is the grass on the dam.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

I feed Nyger seed to the Gold Finches, squirrels don't like the small seed. The Woodpecker suet feeders and regular bird feeders are another story. Use regular bird seed mixed with sunflower seed for those and the squirrels love both. In the Winter have seen as many as 12 squirrels partaking in their "buffet" but this time of year normally see 2 or 3. I enjoy watching them, the gymnastics they can do in the trees limbs is amazing. I've tried ears of corn but the raccoons steal it during their nightly raids. This place is a ZOO!

My bird feeder is far enough away from the trees that squirrels can't get to it, and the baffle stops them, so they are not a problem. I have seen a big racoon simply crawl over the baffle, so they can get to the seed if they want. Fortunately, they don't visit very often, or if they do I never know it. In the past, they could kick out most of the seed during the night, so I got in the habit of filling it only about 1/4 full, but no problems lately. Neighbor used to throw corn on the ground for the turkeys; we had deer, turkeys, Canada geese and Mallards visit pretty regularly...not to mention crows. Since she quit that, the ducks, geese and deer visitations have slowed considerably.

 

[Diggin It]

I have seen a big racoon simply crawl over the baffle, so they can get to the seed if they want.

Mine are rigged up from a couple of 4x4s. The 'Coons could climb those easily. Stopped them by putting a couple of pieces of 7" galvanized duct around the 4x4s. They can't climb the metal.

 

[rekees4300]

Mine are rigged up from a couple of 4x4s. The 'Coons could climb those easily. Stopped them by putting a couple of pieces of 7" galvanized duct around the 4x4s. They can't climb the metal.

Have a similar problem with the 4X4s supporting our 2nd floor deck. Coons climb up there and damage the grill. How long is the galvanized duct? Attach with screws? Do you flatten the duct to match the shape of the 4X4s or just leave it cylindrical?