Bringing Birds to Your Backyard – Day Two

Tufted Titmouse
Tufted Titmouse

Today is day two in a five day series on bringing more birds to your backyard.  The first tip was to offer a variety of food.  Ready for the second?

TIP TWO:  SET UP AN ASSORTMENT OF FEEDERS

You don’t have to go overboard and have, say, 17 feeders…I mean, who does that?  Okay – besides me.  But if you can place different types of feeders at several locations in your yard, some hung high and others placed closer to the ground, you will attract more birds.

There are lots of wonderful feeders on the market.  If you want to spend a bit of money, Brome offers several squirrel buster feeders that I love – I have one for sunflower seeds and another for peanuts.  They work great.

nuthatch
Brown-headed Nuthatch on the peanut feeder. Love these little birds!

But you don’t have to spend much money to please the birds.  My most popular feeders are the handiwork of my husband.  For example, attached to our deck rail are three troughs made from two inch PVC piping.  He painted them brown, cut out the top center portion, and voila…instant feeding trays.  We get A LOT of activity at these feeders.

red-breastedwoodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker visiting one of the feeding troughs.

He also drilled holes in a Bradford Pear log and attached wooden dowels for perches.  We stuff the holes with Bark Butter (see day one) and then sit back and watch the birds gobble it up.

kinglet
Ruby-crownded Kinglet on the Bark Butter log.

Try and put your feeders close to branches or bushes.  If the birds feel safer, they are more likely to linger longer.

 

Published by kathydoremus

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Amateur nature "photogriter." One who still marvels at majesty.

4 thoughts on “Bringing Birds to Your Backyard – Day Two”

  1. Great idea for a feeding trough. Although I’m afraid the squirrels would get most of the food if I put these up near the deck. Do squirrels raid the feeders in your yard? If so, how do you keep them away?

    1. The feeding troughs really do work great…I think it also gives some of the ground feeders the feeling like they are on the ground since they can stand in it and eat. As far as those thieving squirrels…we have a bunch of them. They get their fair share of the seed, but one trick we use is to mix in some Texas Pete extra hot sauce …more so in the Bark Butter…it deters the squirrels but doesn’t bother the birds at all.
      I think Bark Butter wouldn’t be too hard to make, but I like buying mine from our local Wild Birds Unlimited. It runs about $12 a tub and is worth every penny.

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