The “Everything You Want To Know About Bird Feeders” Guide

I’d just like to say that I hope you liked reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it. My yard is now just about complete and properly bird friendly but I don’t think that I’ll ever stop making improvements to it if I can attract more birds to it.

Anyway, I hope that what I had to say was informative and that you didn’t come away feeling disappointed. Perhaps I even managed to spark your interest some more and you now have more bird feeders in your garden than you know what to do with! If all your “bird feeders” are like my five year old niece then you’ve still gotten a good deal out of it.

Whatever the case may be, all I can hope is that you too can experience at least one tenth of the joy that I get from feeding and watching all the birds (and squirrels) that live in my backyard.

Enjoy!

 

Table of Contents

 

Introduction

 

What will you get out of this book?

 

Bird Feeders – What they are

 

The reasoning behind bird feeders

 

How to choose the right bird feeder

What types of birds do you want to attract to your garden

How durable is your bird feeder

Is maintenance easy

How much seed will the feeder hold

Do you live in the colder climes or the more warmer ones

Are you on the migrating paths

Do you want to squirrel and raccoon proof your feeder

Money: how much are you willing to part with     

 

Where can you buy your Bird Feeder?      

The Internet

The Pet Store

A Specialty Store

A Garden Shop

Department Stores: Garden Section

The Hardware Shop

 

How long should your bird feeder last

 

Why Have a Bird Feeder

 

Maintenance

For Normal Bird Feeders

For Hummingbird Feeders or Oriole Feeders

The Area around your Bird Feeder

Water Troughs and Bird Baths

 

Seasonal or Annual

 

Types of different feeders

Platform feeder

Hopper

Seed Tube feeder

Thistle or Nyjer feeder

Nectar Tube feeder

Hummingbird feeder

Oriole feeder

Suet feeder

Window bird feeder  

Ground feeder

Squirrel proof feeders

   Counterbalance

   Domed Cover

   Extended Feeding Port

   Electric Rotator

   Caged Bird Feeder

   Cover for your Pole        

 

Additionally…

Metal feeders

Wooden feeders

Copper feeders

 

Which feeders for which birds

Hopper Feeder

Platform Feeder

Seed Tube Feeder

Seed Tube Feeder with platform

Nectar Tube Feeder

Suet Feeder

Ground Feeder

Nyjer Feeder

 

Where to place your bird feeder

 

What to use as bird food

Your basic bird food menus

   Bird seed mixes

   Seeds

   Suet

   Fruits

   Nectar

   Mealworms

   Grit

   Water

 

What not to feed birds

Chocolates

Old seeds or mixes

Desiccated coconut

Seeds with pesticides

Nectar with colored dyes

 

Which seeds for which birds

Sunflower

Black Oil Sunflower Seeds

Safflower

Corn

Millet

Nyjer

Peanuts        

Milo

 

Seeds

Sunflower

Black Oil Sunflower

Safflower     

Corn

Millet

Proso Millet

Nyjer

Peanuts

Milo

 

Water

 

Get your kids involved

Building your own birdfeeder

Platform Feeders

Finch Feeder

Sunflower Seed Feeder

Pine Cone Suet Feeder

Easy Suet Feeder

Oriole Orange Feeder

Oriole Nectar Feeder

Milk Carton Feeder

Coconut Feeder

Easy Orange Feeder

Hummingbird Feeder

Coffee Can Feeder

Suet Log Feeder

Simple Ground Feeder

 

Bird feed recipes

Bread Suet recipe

Suet Balls

Bird Cake     

Hummingbird Nectar

Rice Recipe

Fruit Cocktail

Fruit Suet

Rendered Fat Cakes

Lard and Peanut Butter Suet

Oriole Ambrosia

Bird Feeder Shish Kebabs

 

Identifying birds

Binoculars

Attracting birds

Check List

What You Can Do

   Food

   Water

   Plant Cover

   Housing Accommodation

   Cats

Most common garden birds

 

Discouraging large birds

 

Baffles

   So, what can you do?

 

Bird feeding controversies

 

Precautions

 

Bird diseases

What to do to prevent bird diseases

Keep alternate or extra feeding stations

Signs to look for, warning you of possible bird disease

Known common bird ailments        

 

Window collisions

How to prevent collisions

What to do if you find a stunned bird

 

Cats

 

Bird Flu

 

Making your garden bird friendly

   Food

   Cover

   Nesting sites

      Bird Houses

      Dead trees /Logs

Bird Baths

Trees and other shrubs

   A few trees that birds favor

   A few shrub varieties for your birds

   Flowering Nectar plants

 

A Small Note