Cats, Dogs and other Pets

So exactly how do you choose the right garden bird feeder for you? What’s the first thing you need to do and is the choice of bird feeder truly an important one? Well, the truth is that in the beginning it’s probably not. The choice of your first bird feeder can be simple and rudimentary – you don’t really need anything too fancy – and something with a low price tag might suit you even better, at least until you make up your mind as to what you really want from your bird feeder.

But, if you’ve been doing this birding lark for a while, you probably know exactly what kind of garden bird feeders you should be looking at, and you can probably teach me something too! If you are new to this, then you might also be wondering how you can find the right garden bird feeder to suit your back yard. There are a few things to consider and I’ll go through them so as to make the options clear and easier for you to work through.Just before I do that though, if you really don’t want to go through the hassle, or if you’d rather discover what you need for your birding hobby as you go along, then you could just go ahead and get one of the basic platform garden bird feeders. They’re a great starter bird feeder and it will be a quick boost to your learning curve.But, if you want to get all the info together before you decide which garden bird feeder you’re going to buy, then read on. Probably the best way is for me to do a list of the most important facts to consider. You will need to think about;* What types of birds you want to attract to your garden* How strong is your bird feeder* Is maintenance easy* How much seed will the feeder hold* Do you live in the colder climes or the more warmer ones* Are you on the birds migration path* Do you want to raccoon and squirrel proof your bird feeder* How much will you spendJust a bit more on the first item I mentioned there – probably the most important question to ask of yourself when buying a bird feeder is what kind of bird are you hoping to attract to your garden? This is crucial because the choice of feeder is always influenced by the type of bird you’re going to be feeding.For instance, if you’re looking to attract hummingbirds then investing in a platform garden bird feeder isn’t going to get you very far. Hummingbirds need nectar and you’ll need to get a special hummingbird feeder for them to drink from, and the same applies to orioles. Alternatively, if it’s northern cardinals you want then you’ll want to look into buying garden bird feeders that sit on the ground, or maybe you’ll need to go for suet bird feeders for any woodpeckers and others of the same kind.Hopefully you get the general idea, but if you’re new to all of this you might even now be wondering how on earth you’ll be able to know which birds can be found in your area. That too is a fairly simple problem to overcome and any field guide native to your area can help you or barring that I’ve always found the internet to be a mine of information. Otherwise you could always find more information at your library or perhaps even from a bird society in your area.Once you know all the pertinent details it’s then just a matter of narrowing it down to which particular birds you want to attract. After that you can again resort to any of these sources to get the low-down on which garden bird feeders the birds will prefer, or you could always ask a friendly sales person from your local pet store.

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