What Bird Feeder is Right for Your Neck of the Woods

Adding a bird feeder to your yard brings a lot of joy to your home. It is a simple enough thing to do that easily attracts natural life to your yard. However, some feeders are better than others depending on what results you desire. The type of birds in your area, the number of birds you’d like to feed and the ease of setup that you require can all help to determine the right type of feeder for your home.

The simplest type of feeder to install in your yard is a hummingbird feeder. This type of feeder can be purchased for an affordable price. It is filled with a sugar water mixture, a process that doesn’t cost a lot of money or require a lot of time. After you hang the feeder, you won’t need to do much with it other than refill it. The hummingbirds will start to visit. If you’re seeking light bird traffic and are particularly fond of these high-speed little birds then this type of feeder makes sense for your home.

Hummingbird feeders are not the only types of feeders that are essentially designed to attract a specific type of bird. Another example of this is the bluebird feeder. Fill this type of feeder with small mealworms and other little treats that are particularly appealing to bluebirds. The bluebirds will quickly find the food and start calling your garden home. Likewise, if you particularly want to attract woodpeckers then you can select a feeder designed specifically to be attractive and durable for these types of birds.

Not all people want to have just a single species of bird coming to their yard. Many people prefer to see a range of different birds so that they can experience the true joy of bird watching. If you want to attract many different types of birds, then you’ll need to select from some of the other feeders that are available. Knowing what types of birds are in your area can help you to select the right multi-bird feeder.

One great type of bird feeder to start out with is the fly-through feeder. This has an open design so that birds can land on the feeder and get the food without being confined inside of a house-style structure. This is attractive to many birds because it allows them to feel safe and unconfined and not likely to get stuck. There are many different styles of fly-through feeders so you can choose one with a design you enjoy. However, you will want to look for safety features like squirrel-blockers in order to reduce threats to the birds and increase your likely bird traffic.

Another multi-bird option is the ground bird feeder. This is literally a tray that sits on the ground. This style appeals to people who don’t want to have to set up stands or take the time to install hangers for their feeders. This type of feeder is appealing specifically to ground birds such as doves and quails. Note, however, that other ground animals are likely to come feed from the tray as well. Some people like this and others do not.

What about if you want to discourage large birds in the yard from scaring off the little songbirds that you like? In that case, select a globe feeder. These feeders have small landing spaces and small openings to reach the food. Songbirds will gather around and chirp happily about the opportunity to dine in your yard. Combine this type of bird feeder in the yard with other bigger feeders and you can attract a large number of different birds to your yard.


Sandy Winslow likes to share ideas on ways to enjoy wildlife in your own backyard. Kids and adults can enjoy the variety of birds in their neighborhood when you have a bird feeder in your yard.