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Wooden Bird Feeders

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Wooden Bird Feeders

Putting up a bird feeder in your backyard is a great way to encourage the wondrous members of the avian community to make your backyard a more vibrant and interesting place. It works both ways. The birds will be making your backyard a more colorful place, and you in turn will be helping them survive through the food-shortage months and the bitter cold of winter.

Not all birds eat the same food and not all birds will eat from the same type of feeder. The type of feeder you install will influence the species you can expect to inhabit your area.

Wooden bird feeders generally tend to be non-exclusive feeders, meaning that they will cater to all species. This is great if you want to see a variety of birds in your backyard. Platform feeders are common wooden bird feeders and are very versatile, attracting both large and small birds. Platform feeders will have plenty of drainage holes to prevent water accumulating and a roof to keep the food dry. These wooden bird feeders can be hung or mounted on a pole. The platform feeders are good for un-shelled peanuts, fruits, mealworms, raisins and any nut-based mixture.

Ground feeders are wooden bird feeders very similar to the platform feeder except they do not have a roof and are placed just above the ground. These are great for ground feeding birds such as doves and native sparrows. Always look for a ground feeder with raised sides as this will reduce spillage and keep rodents from eating the spilt seed.
Once a rodent population is established, it can be very difficult to get rid of. The best way is to stop feeding the birds for a couple of weeks and hope that the rodents will seek out other food sources. But the best cure is prevention. As with all wooden bird feeders, try and devise a way to stop seed from spilling to the ground. Many feeders will have trays that catch spilt seeds, but you may need to construct a larger catch tray. Also, it is very important to clean out the catch tray each night. The catch tray will contain bird droppings that could lead to the spread of disease.

The house or hopper feeders are classic and attractive wooden bird feeders. Like the platform feeders, the hopper feeders will attract a variety or species. They can be hung or post mounted and not only do they serve a practical purpose for the bird life, they are also the most attractive of all the wooden bird feeders. The hopper bird feeder has a roof and walls that protect the seed against the elements. The large area of the hopper means that it can store a healthy amount of bird food, although the food may go bad if it becomes wet from a storm and sits for a few days. The type of seed you should put in a hopper is sunflower seed, sunflower hearts or a blended nut combination.

Wooden bird feeders attract a variety or species to your backyard and this is a great thing. But you may want to be aware that often the smaller birds will have to wait until the larger species have disappeared and may well go hungry as a result. There are specific feeders for smaller birds that larger birds cannot eat from. Encourage a variety of wildlife in your backyard but you also try to make sure that everyone is being well fed.