Birdfeeders

What kinds of food a bird eats depends quite a bit and size, shape and strength of its beak. A hummingbird has a long, thin beak that is perfectly suited for getting nectar out of tube-shaped flowers. Grosbeaks and cardinals have short, quite thick beaks that are similar to nutcrackers for they easily crush the shells of sunflower seeds. Smaller birds such as chickadees also love sunflower seeds, but because their beaks are smaller and not as strong, they pick open one sunflower seed at a time. You are more likely to see a grossbeak sit on a feeder eating for they can crush and eat a sunflower seed quickly. Smaller birds often grab a seed and fly off to a nearby perch to eat it. So, how big should your bird feeder be? The most important consideration is how often you are willing to fill it, for an empty bird feeder just encourages birds to go to someone else’s yard! I prefer a hopper feeder or tube feeder with a fairly large capacity so I only need to fill it every few days during most of the year. Of course, during the busy spring and fall periods, even a large hopper feeder needs to be filled frequently.