Garden Bird Feeder
If you are willing to see your garden full of colorful birds, you are recommended to hang a good garden bird feeder. The easiest way to attract birds is by offering them with food and water. Man-made gardens have now turned into a major source of food for many garden birds. The natural habitat of the birds that consisted of open woodlands and farmlands is now damaged due to changes brought about in agricultural practices. The garden bird feeder in gardens serves birds with good food that has become scarce in other places. Garden bird feeders can be easily bought from aviary stores and bird accessories.
Types of Garden Bird Feeders
Peanut Feeders – They are generally made up of coarse plastic or wire mesh. The holes of the mesh are big enough to allow birds to feed on the seeds by pecking them.
Seed Feeders – The seed feeders are mainly in the form of a tube. They consist of several feeding ports with perching facilities under or along the length of the tube. The birds sit on the perches and peck on the loose seeds through the eating ports. A special type of garden bird seed feeder is the ‘niger feeder’. Unlike others having large feeding ports the holes of the niger feeder are very small. Though the ports are tiny the birds can easily peck and feed on the very small niger seeds. The small eating ports of this form of garden feeder deter squirrels to eat from it.
Suet Feeders – Suet feeders are made up of metal frames and are of various sizes. They can be round, square, or cylinder.
Bird Nut Feeders – These are specially designed to feed birds with whole peanuts. They can contain other quality seeds as well.
Thistle Feeders – They are ideal to feed birds with niger seeds. They are specially made to attract one of the most attractive birds, the beautiful Goldfinch.
Bird Tables – A well-constructed bird table can turn out to be a good source of food for birds. You may feed birds with a variety of seeds.
Bird Seed Feeders – The typical garden bird seed feeder is made to offer birds a variety of seeds. The plastic that is used for their construction is weather resistant. They are hygienic seed feeders and keep the food of the birds fresh for long periods of time.
The other types of garden bird feeders consist of squirrel-resistant bird feeders, multi-bird feeders, and bird feeder accessories.
Some of the garden bird feeders are entirely made up of plastic which may not be tough enough to resist the persistent attack of the squirrels. The ones that are made up of polycarbonate plastics and quality metal though expensive but are quite durable and are capable of standing against the attack of the squirrels.
These garden bird feeders are designed by keeping in mind the food habits of specific species of birds. Some are specially designed to attract cardinals while some are for small birds like hummingbirds.
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