There’s something incredibly soothing about hearing the spirited chirping of birds in the backyard. Watching them explore, interact, and bustle about is even better. If you have kids, having these wild and colorful birds to the backyard can spark a special feeling of joy and curiosity. Observing these busy creatures and learning about them is a great way to keep your kids engaged, while helping them appreciate the simple pleasures that the natural world can offer.
Bird feeders offer a relatively easy way to bring these wild and colorful winged creatures to your yard. Birds like to forage for their food, after all, and turning your yard or garden into a viable feeding source will attract a regular stream of flying visitors your way. Of course, not all birds are the same when it comes to feeding. Some prefer to find their food on the ground, while others prefer to seek them out around trees. There are birds that like to feed out in the open, while some prefer to stuff their beaks when they’re close to cover.
The best bird feeder to install in your backyard will be whatever attracts the kind of birds you’re hoping will descend upon your space. With blackbirds, thrushes, and similar birds that like to feed at ground level, for instance, you want to use a ground feeding table, preferably with a cage of sorts to keep larger birds and other wildlife from getting through. For sparrows, finches and similar birds, on the other hand, you want a seed feeder that you can hang on a tree branch or a similarly tall structure. If you want variety, then it’s probably smart to scatter various types of feeding sites around the yard, which should help bring in birds with different feeding inclinations.
When choosing the best bird feeders, you should consider the animals’ safety – you don’t want to have any places on it where your feathered friends can potentially get stuck. You also need to choose a feeder that is easy to clean, since you’ll want to regularly maintain it to help prevent the spread of disease among your local bird population.
These are the best bird feeders to bring a flurry of bird activity in your backyard.
Wosibo Deck Bird Feeder
Designed to mount on railings, this rig combines a post that holds a metal mesh bird feeder on one side and a plastic bowl you can fill with water for bird baths on the other. This makes it ideal for installing on balconies, decks, and porches, along with any similar structures you have in your outdoor spaces, while the arms holding both containers can spin 360-degrees around the post, allowing you to reposition them as needed. The feeder itself measures 16 x 7 inches, with plenty of room for lots of feed and plenty of raised edges for birds to perch on.
Nature’s Way CWF3 Platform Tray Bird Feeder
This simple platform bird feeder gives you a wooden container that measures 12 x 12 inches, with a mesh seed tray at the floor that you can quickly lift out for easy cleaning. Because its mesh, any water is able to flow down below the tray, while air is able to circulate continuously, allowing it to keep seeds fresh for much longer. The wooden container, on the other hand, is coated with a water-based protective stain, allowing it to hold up to rot and insects. It’s uncovered, so rain and snow can get in easily, which the wood should be able to withstand, although the feeder itself is unprotected, so you might not want to put food on it during inclement weather. The container comes with vinyl-coated steel hanging wires, so you can mount it on hooks and branches.
Nature’s Hangout Windows Bird Feeder
If you want to have birds hanging out right by the window, this bird feeder comes with suction cups that allow you to stick it right on the glass surface, making it ideal for folks who want to observe their winged visitors a bit more up close. It comes with tiny perches that’s ideal for attracting small birds, making it an ideal platform for attracting chickadees, bluebirds, and juncos. The entire thing is transparent, so you can clearly see what’s happening, regardless of your viewing angle, while a removable tray allows for easy cleaning and drain holes prevent water from pooling inside.
Kingsyard Metal Finch Bird Feeders
This bird feeder combines a mesh metal tube that’s ideal for filling up with thistle and sunflower seeds, which should make it extremely attractive for nuthatches, goldfinches, and similar small birds. The mesh is just the perfect size to feed on those small seeds, while allowing birds to perch on any part of the wire tube. A round tray at the bottom catches any seeds that fall out of the mesh, so birds can also perch on the tray edges for feeding, while a cone cover on top serves as a roof to keep out the elements. Every part of the feeder is made from metal with an protective UV coating
Birds Choice SNTP Suet Feeder
Ideal for use during cold weather, this bird feeder is designed to hold suet cakes, which consist of densely packed animal fat (occasionally, also cornmeal and peanuts) that birds love to feast on during winter season. The suet is held inside caged container, so it will stay in place, while allowing birds to eat through the holes, while the plastic construction ensures it will hold up to any kind of weather. Suet feeders attract a wide assortment of birds, especially during cold weather, although there are also birds that can consume it year ‘round. Do note, this isn’t designed to keep squirrels out, although you can use hot pepper suet, which are fine for birds, but don’t quite sit well with the squirrel population.
Perky Pet Home Style Bird Feeder 339-1SR
Designed to keep squirrels out, this hopper-style bird feeder comes with a weight-activated perch that automatically folds down when a squirrel hops on, immediately blocking their access to the feed. It has a spacious main container sized to hold up to eight pounds of bird seed that’s designed to slowly release its contents onto four narrow trays for birds to feed on, with a design clad in the shape of a house that makes it as much a decorative item as it is a way to attract birds to the yard. Windows let you easily monitor the amount of seed inside while a removable top let you refill easily. The feeder is designed to be hung on a hook, pole, or tree branch, by the way, so you can place it anywhere in the yard.
Kingsyard Squirrel-Proof Ground Bird Feeder
This ground feeder consists of a tray with four legs, so your feeder is elevated six inches off the surface. The legs are removable, too, in case you want your birds to feed right on the ground. It’s covered with a wire frame cage to restrict access from squirrels, cats, and other larger animals, allowing small birds like nuthatches, bluebirds, and towhees to eat their seeds, nuts, and whatever else in peace. The cage can be removed when you need to refill or clean the tray, which can accommodate up to five pounds of bird seed at a time.
Ointo Garden 6-Hook Bird Feeding Station
Want to set up multiple feeders in a single spot? You can do it with this post, which comes with a five-prong anchor for securing on the ground and a cone structure on the lower section to prevent squirrels from climbing it. You get four large hooks at the top of the pole, two smaller hooks along the body, and a pair of removable containers at the lower part, namely a mesh tray and a bowl for bird baths. It comes with four different feeders that you can hang on any of the hooks, namely a pair of tube feeders, a melon seed feeder (a tube made with wire mesh), and a suet feeder. You can also hang any other feeders you have in your inventory on any of the hooks, too, making this a really useful accessory if you don’t have plenty of trees and similar vertical structures to use in the yard.
Droll Yankees Seed Saver Platform Feeder
This bird feeder has a seven-inch bowl at the bottom that you can fill with seeds and other feeds of your liking, while a 10-inch protective dome keeps out rain and all the other elements. The dome’s height is adjustable, so you can raise it to allow larger birds in and lower it to limit the feeder to the smaller avian population, while the feeder itself can hold a pound’s worth of feed in one go. Construction is UV-stabilized plastic that won’t discolor from sunlight exposure, while a metal hook sits at the top for easily setting up at an elevated spot in the yard.
Brome Squirrel Buster Legacy Bird Feeder
Designed for thistles, this bird feeder allows birds to eat off small feeding ports at the bottom while they sit on the weight-activated perches or cling onto the wire mesh themselves. When squirrels hop onto the perch, their excess weight pulls it down, which activates the spring mechanism to close access to the feeding ports. You can adjust how much weight to allow on the perches, by the way, so you can loosen it to allow bigger birds or keep it tight to limit it to your smaller feathered friends.
Bird Buddy Smart Bird Feeder Solar-Powered
Most people camp out with a pair of binoculars to observe the action that happens around their bird feeders. It’s a fun enough way to keep tabs on your feathered visitors. This bird feeder, though, comes with a built-in camera and Wi-Fi connection that lets you observe things remotely, allowing you to watch the avian activity in the vicinity from the comfort of your phone. Even better, the system has onboard AI that can recognize over 1,000 bird species, so the app can give you informative details about each visitor in your feeder, while an alert system can send notifications only when birds are around, so you don’t have to spend any time waiting for the chirping visitors to come by. The camera and wireless transmission are all powered using an onboard battery that can automatically replenish via solar panels on the roof, sparing you from the hassle of having to plug in or replace batteries regularly. Granted, it’s way more expensive than traditional bird feeders, but it sure is nice to be able to see birds in your yard even when you’re out of the house.
