There are many different styles of bird feeders on the market. Having said that, the seed that you fill your bird feeder with is probably the most critical factor in determining which species of birds are likely to show up. You can’t go wrong with hulled sunflower chips. This is the hulled or shelled version of black oil sunflower and we sell more of this than any other single seed-about 20 tons per year.
Hulled sunflower is best offered in a tube-style bird feeder. This is a cylindrical bird feeder commonly made from polycarbonate (a very strong plastic) with several openings and perches (preferably made from metal) where the birds feed from. Tube style feeders are easy for smaller birds like chickadees and goldfinches to use and more difficult for larger birds such as jays to feed from.
Nyjer (thistle) feeders, also called "finch feeders" are specialized tube feeders designed for nyjer seed. Feeding ports on finch feeders are quite small to accomodate tiny nyjer seeds. Nyjer appeals almost exclusively to goldfinches, house finches, and Pine Siskins. Make sure you put a dome cover over the feeder to keep the rain out since wet moldy seed can cause serious problems for your new backyard friends. Consider adding a tray to the bottom to catch some of the seed and to entice some of the ground feeding birds such as towhees and juncos.
Bird feeders made from wood (cedar is the best choice) are typically either a hopper style feeder or fly-thru (aka platform) style.
A hopper style bird feeder has a plexi-glass section or hopper in the middle with a gap at the bottom where the seed spills out from. This style of bird feeder holds more seed (which means less work for you) and is more accommodating to a larger diversity of birds because it offers more flat surfaces for birds to feed from. Hopper feeders work very well with black oil sunflower seed or a high quality seed mixture. Make sure your hopper feeder has a large overhanging roof to keep the rain out and a removable, perforated aluminum tray bottom. This type of bottom tray allows moisture to drain away from the seed and is easy to clean. Avoid wood bottom feeders since they tend to retain moisture causing seed to mold much more quickly. Wood bottom feeders also tend to be much more difficult to clean. Fill up a hopper style bird feeder with black oil sunflower or a good quality seed mix that contains sunflower seeds, peanuts, and some millet.
A fly-thru style bird feeder is basically a hopper style bird feeder without the hopper. This is probably the style of bird feeder that has been around the longest. It consists of an open tray design usually with a roof but not always. Because of its open design and large feeding surface, fly-thrus will generally attract an even greater variety of birds than a hopper style. And since just about every seed-eating bird will feed at a fly-thru feeder, a quality seed mixture will work exceptionally well. Fly-thru’s tend to be the easiest bird feeders to clean due to their simple design. Again, ensure you buy one with a removable, perforated aluminum tray. The disadvantage of this type of bird feeder is that it holds only as much seed as the tray holds and exposure of the seed to the elements is greater. Albeit there are feeders on the market that combine the advantages of both-utilizing a hopper and an extra large tray.
Regardless of the type of bird feeder that you choose, your next decision will be where to locate it in order to maximize your bird watching opportunities, and minimize the squirrel occupation that will likely follow. We’ll cover that in the next section
