The Bird Feeder's Handbook

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In temperate climates, these feeders should be placed after frost is gone. To help birds find the feeder, hang it near flowering plants. (Hummingbirds are especially attracted to the color red.) Then, once the birds have discovered it, you can move the feeder to a shady location with a better view. Keep nectar feeders clean; bacteria breeds easily in the sugary liquid. To avoid bees and yellow jackets, select a dripless feeder; to avoid ants, coat the hanging wire or chain with petroleum jelly.

Fruit Feeders

Hanging fruit feeders that hold apple or orange halves on spears will bring a wide variety of birds throughout the year. Probably the easiest way to feed birds is to spear fruit onto the end of a branch. Expect visits from robins, cedar waxwings, wrens, and rose-breasted grosbeaks.

Homemade Feeders

Any clean, plastic container (soda and laundry detergent bottles, for example) can be made into a feeder by cutting a rectangular panel out of one side, a few inches from the bottom. Leave the cap on and fill the bottom with seed. A paper milk-or juice-carton will work well too. Slice off the bottom corners of the carton with a razor blade, cutting off just enough to allow a sunflower seed through the hole. Punch small holes in the carton next to the feeding holes and insert twigs or dowels into the holes as perches. Fill the carton with seed and staple it shut. Then punch a hole through the top of the conainer to accommodate a hanging chain and hook, and hang the feeder. These feeders will probably be demolished by squirrels, but they're fun while they last.

The Right Feeder in the Right Place

Your bird feeder should hold enough food so you don't have to slog out to it through the snow every day, but not so much that the seeds rot before the birds can eat it all. Since the rate of consumption varies with season and weather, put out feeders of different sizes at different times. You'll gather the widest range of birds that way.

Decide whether you want to hang the feeder on a branch, bracket, or mount it on a pole. Some prefer hanging feeders, which seem unobtrusive and save the expense and trouble of poles. For hanging feeders, use metal chains and S-hooks for hanging. Squirrels will bite through string, rope, monofilament fishing line, etc., sending your feeder crashing to the ground. Metal chain is inexpensive; even the decorative sort costs only pennies a foot.

If no convenient branch is available, you can mount a bracket on a window sill or wall. But be warned: almost all hanging feeders—no matter how well protected— eventually become local squirrel hangouts.

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