Birdfeeders

When our goal is to attract as many different birds as possible to our yards, there are two important things to keep in mind. The first of course is what food to offer. By offering a variety of seeds, nuts, fruit, suet and nectar, a wide variety of birds will find something appealing in your yard. However, it is also important to offer this food at different heights.  There are many birds who feed almost exclusively on the ground, so they will be happy with food scattered on the ground or put in a platform feeder located on the ground.  However, many birds are uncomfortable on the ground so will do much better with a hanging hopper bird feeder or tube feeder. It is also a good idea to place bird feeders in locations away from each other and some not too near the house. When bird feeders are all close together, it is easy to have a dominant species that chases all others away. Sometimes it can even be one dominant bird that is determined to keep all others away from a feeder. If you are noticing aggressive behavior around the bird feeders, it might be a good idea to add another feeder, but not too close to the first one. Maybe hang another hopper bird feeder at a slightly different height in a different area of the yard.