Feeders Archives • PAUL ROEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY

Cardinal - Foil Those Squirrels Once and For All Regardless of What Feeder and Seed You Use — **Northern Cardinal feeding on black-oil sunflower seed.**

Ask anyone who feeds the birds in their yard and most agree squirrels are their nemesis. For me, I realize everything must eat but I like the hard-earned money I spend on bird seed going to the birds, not the squirrels. I have several different styles of feeders up in my yard as I like to have a feeder for everyone and attract as many birds as I can. I have several feeders from the squirrel buster line which work great and others outfitted with baffles and other squirrel deterrents.

IMG 9384 - Foil Those Squirrels Once and For All Regardless of What Feeder and Seed You Use — **Peanuts mixed with Treat Your Own Seed Saver offered in a ground feeder were enjoyed by blue jays and not touched by squirrels.**

These feeders and products all work amazingly but do come with a few stipulations. A hopper feeder mounted on a pole with a baffle requires it be located far enough from a tree or fence that squirrels can’t jump to it. Likewise, it is recommended a squirrel buster feeder be hung 18″ away from any foothold the squirrel can reach from forcing it to place all of its weight on the feeder which closes the seed ports as it is designed to do.

IMG 6737 - Foil Those Squirrels Once and For All Regardless of What Feeder and Seed You Use — **White-breasted Nuthatch at my peanut feeder.**

Maybe you don’t want an elaborate feeder setup or have a heavily treed or narrow yard with a fence where the requirements of these feeders can’t be met. Then what? Well, I have found the solution!

IMG 0147 - Foil Those Squirrels Once and For All Regardless of What Feeder and Seed You Use — **Juncos have returned to Southwestern Ontario and are enjoying white millet in my ground feeder treated with Squirrel Proof Treat Your Own Seed Saver.**

Earlier this year, I started adding Squirrel Proof Treat Your Own Seed Saver to my bird seed. When mixed with any birdseed this liquid adds a hot and spicy sensation birds love and squirrels hate. I must admit I was skeptical trying this product but at only $11.95 a bottle figured it was worth a try. To my delight, I found Squirrel Proof Treat Your Own Seed Saver worked. How this stuff works is it teaches or conditions squirrels to the association between the taste they don’t like and the smell of the food. This process can take a few weeks but I found the results to be almost instant in an area where Grey Squirrels and Red Squirrels are present.

In the video below, I demonstrate how easy this product is to mix with peanuts before filling my feeder.

0 - Foil Those Squirrels Once and For All Regardless of What Feeder and Seed You Use

Watch this video on YouTube

This product is incredibly easy to use. On initial use add 3 to 4 tablespoons of seed saver to 1 pound of your favourite seed. Once squirrels are avoiding your feeder you can cut back to 1 to 2 tablespoons per pound. Each bottle of seed saver treats 35 lbs of bird seed. I use an old plastic coffee can with a snap-on lid to mix my seed as I can easily shake the container ensuring all the seed gets coated.

17223872502 3a929c2d49 o - Foil Those Squirrels Once and For All Regardless of What Feeder and Seed You Use — **Northern Flicker feeding on peanuts halves at my 16″ metal feeder.**

One of my favorite feeders is the 16″ metal peanut feeder. I have had great success over the years attracting woodpeckers, nuthatches, and Carolina Wrens to this feeder but have always hung it from a tree branch with an old wire coat hanger. Squirrels would always walk out on the tree branch and descend the wire easily accessing the peanut halves inside. Once I added the seed saver to the peanuts, the squirrels left the peanuts alone almost immediately. Not only was I happy this vitamin-enriched bird seed mix worked, but I also noticed an increase in birds using the feeder. Whether or not this was because the birds like the seed saver treated peanuts more than plain peanuts or the fact the squirrels previously occupying the feeder kept the birds away, only the birds know.

IMG 9883 - Foil Those Squirrels Once and For All Regardless of What Feeder and Seed You Use — **This Red-bellied Woodpecker enjoyed hulled sunflower seed from my hopper feeder.**

Satisfied with the results, I started mixing the seed saver with hulled sunflower seed offered in a hopper feeder. Again, the results were the same lots of birds and no squirrels. Another feeder I love is my ground feeder. As the name suggests, this feeder is popular with ground-feeding birds including cardinals, doves, and the more desired native sparrows including white-throated, white-crowned, and Dark-eyed Juncos. This feeder also attracts squirrels due to its easy ground access. Since adding seed saver to white millet and hulled sunflower in the ground feeder, no squirrels. I even tried adding treated peanuts halves to the ground feeder figuring this was a squirrel’s favourite food and easiest access and again no squirrels. I could finally watch all the amazing ground-feeding birds use this awesome feeder stress-free without worrying about squirrels emptying it in minutes.

IMG 4694 - Foil Those Squirrels Once and For All Regardless of What Feeder and Seed You Use — **Many birds like this White-crowned Sparrow prefer a ground feeder. Mixing Treat Your Own Seed Saver with my seed ensures I’m feeding the birds and not the squirrels.**

As a bonus, but something I haven’t tried yet, once squirrels are conditioned to the smell of the seed saver it can be added to the base of potted plants or to mulch in your garden to keep squirrels from digging as the seed saver will not harm the plants.

If you are looking to foil those squirrels once and for all, I highly recommend this incredible product!

Good birding,
Paul

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17223872502 5a535b2e71 b Edit - 3 Feeders Every Backyard Birder Should Own — **Peanut feeders like this inexpensive metal one I have in my yard are great for attracting Northern Flickers and other clinging birds.**

Walk into any store specializing in feeding wild birds and the selection of feeders can be overwhelming to say the least. With so many styles to choose from, how do you choose the right one for your yard? Fortunately, the staff at these specialty stores are happy to offer expert advice based on your specific yard and the birds you wish to attract.

In my yard, I have as many as 10 feeders out at any given time which to many may seem like overkill, so for this post, I am going to share the top three I think every homeowner looking to attract an abundance of birds to their yard should own.

1. Tube Feeder

In a recent post titled How To Attract Northern Cardinals To Your Yard In 4 Easy Steps, I mentioned tube feeders as a great option for enticing these colour birds. In fact, tube feeders are a great option for offering seed to most birds that frequent our area. I prefer a squirrel proof tube feeder with Brome’s Squirrel Buster Plus and Squirrel Buster Classic being two great options.

IMG 8116 Edit Edit - 3 Feeders Every Backyard Birder Should Own — **Purple Finches have shown up at my tube feeder filled with black oil sunflower seed each of the past two Aprils.**

My personal favourite tube feeder is the Yankee Flipper by Droll Yankees. This feeder features a battery powered motor, which causes the perch ring to spin once activated by a squirrel’s weight. Squirrels quickly lose their grip and are gently thrown from the feeder. The large perch ring accommodates birds of all sizes while the metal construction provides exceptional durability. The clear polycarbonate tube holds a considerable amount of seed, which means I don’t have to fill this feeder as often as smaller models.

IMG 8144 Edit Edit 1 - 3 Feeders Every Backyard Birder Should Own — ***The large perch ring on the Yankee Flipper by Droll Yankees is perfect for attracting Northern Cardinals.***

I received my Yankee Flipper for Christmas in 2008, and the rechargeable battery is still going strong. Backed by a lifetime warranty (excluding the battery or electronic parts) this feeder, in my opinion, is worth every penny of its hefty price tag. Some of the birds observed in my backyard feeding at the Yankee Flipper include:

Northern Cardinal
Blue Jay
American Goldfinch
House Finch
Purple Finch
Carolina Wren
White-breasted Nuthatch
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Black-capped Chickadee
Mourning Dove
Rose-breasted Grosebeak

IMG 8349 Edit Edit - 3 Feeders Every Backyard Birder Should Own — ***Female Purple Finch***

I chose to hang my Yankee Flipper from a large sycamore branch overhanging my yard. The feeder can be accessed by squirrels jumping from the nearby fence top or descending the hook, but most of these critters have become privy to the unpleasant ride that follows and simply stare at the feeder in frustration.

2. Hopper Feeder

When it comes to versatility hopper feeders, especially those with a large platform at the base, are the best for enticing the widest variety of birds. It is these oversized feeding areas that will encourage larger species including Mourning Doves and other ground feeding birds to visit. Dark-eyed Juncos and several of the more desirable sparrow species will readily choose this style of feeder over all other varieties. What type of seed or mix you fill a hopper feeder with will determine what birds you attract.

15424601438 438f1e6e2f o - 3 Feeders Every Backyard Birder Should Own — **Placing peanuts in the shell on the large tray attached to my hopper feeder always attracts an abundance of Blue Jays.**

If you are looking to deter some of the larger bird species, smaller hopper feeders without an oversized base are available. Clinging birds like chickadees, nuthatches, and woodpeckers will still be able to perch as will finches, while doves, jays, and grackles will have a harder time.

34623911520 19e53fd41a o - 3 Feeders Every Backyard Birder Should Own — This Red-headed Woodpecker was a surprise visitor to my hopper feeder last June. These particular birds are rare in our area and are currently listed as special concern on Ontario’s species at risk list.

Smaller hopper feeders can be hung while larger models are best pole mounted with a baffle to deter squirrels. Some hopper feeders even come with bonus suet cages mounted on either end, which are a nice addition as this high energy food will attract an even broader spectrum of birds. Hopper feeders have traditionally been constructed from cedar and other woods, but recycled plastic models are now available which are more weather resistant providing increased durability. Depending on the size of feeder and material you choose, the price will vary considerably, so select a model that suits your budget and landscape.

3. Peanut Feeder

A metal peanut feeder is an inexpensive way to attract a multitude of clinging birds to just about any backyard. Woodpeckers, nuthatches, chickadees, and Carolina Wrens are some of the species that frequent my peanut feeder on a regular basis making it hands down my favourite feeder.

IMG 3664 Edit Edit - 3 Feeders Every Backyard Birder Should Own — **This metal peanut feeder is by far my favourite feeder as it attracts a wide variety of birds including Carolina Wrens.**

I have always said that if I could only have one feeder in my yard, this style of peanut feeder would be it because of the birds it attracts. One nice characteristic of this feeder is the peanut halves used to fill it are slightly larger than the holes that dispense them, meaning birds have to work at the peanut in order to remove them from the feeder. This keeps each bird on the feeder longer, resulting in extended viewing times.

hairy Edit Edit - 3 Feeders Every Backyard Birder Should Own — **Hairy Woodpeckers are among the four species of woodpecker that regularly visit my peanut feeder.**

I love woodpeckers with the Red-bellied being my absolute favourite bird, so for me, this feeder is a must have. I personally prefer the 16″ model (which retails for about $25) because its increased length gives larger woodpeckers like the Red-bellied, Hairy, and Northern Flicker a larger surface for balancing their tails. Like the tube feeder, I too hang this one from a tree branch.

White breasted nuthatch Edit - 3 Feeders Every Backyard Birder Should Own — **White-breasted Nuthatch.**

You might be wondering how to keep squirrels off this feeder as the smell of peanuts will certainly draw them in. I have found that most squirrels have difficulty descending the long thin wire I have mine hanging from and have not had much of a problem with squirrels on this feeder. The small holes in the feeder make it incredibly challenging for squirrels to access the peanuts allowing them to only nibble the ends of the peanuts that stick out. For this reason, squirrels cannot empty this feeder like they do others. If you prefer to keep squirrels off altogether, there are several baffles on the market this feeder can be hung beneath.

29674026725 f1a0a509a6 o - 3 Feeders Every Backyard Birder Should Own — **Red-breasted Nuthatch.**

Though some of these feeders may seem pricey, as the old saying goes you get what you pay for. Many of the higher end feeders are backed by a lifetime warranty reigning supreme over their cheaper counterparts. A good quality feeder will provide years of enjoyment and makes a great addition to any yard.

Adding these three feeders will attract just about every common bird found in our area to any yard and may even lure in a few rarities. If you are wishing to attract more birds to your property give one or all of these feeders a try, I’m sure you will be happy you did.

34176301036 7be4b1e79d o Edit - 3 Feeders Every Backyard Birder Should Own — ***A hopper feeder with a large tray at the bottom is great for attracting Mourning Doves and other ground feeding birds.***

Remember, when adding new feeders it can take a few weeks for birds to get accustomed to them, but with a little patience and these three models you will soon be enjoying a plethora of birds in your yard.

Good birding,
Paul

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