Squirrel-Proof Bird Feeders

A bird feeder, or a bird table, is an instrument usually placed outside the house to supply food for the birds. Bird feeder is a useful device for a bird-watching enthusiast. Some people even plant mini cameras in their bird feeders to study the behavioral patterns of birds.

The activity of feeding wild birds using a bird feeder is known as bird feeding. The activity has gained wide popularity in the United States, especially among bird-watching enthusiasts. They often use bird feeding to attract wild birds to suburban locales. Bird food supply includes seeds, peanuts, kitchen scraps, etc. Other than the food, a bird-feeding station can also have a bird bath and coarse sand grains known as grit, which help the birds to grind food as a part of their digestion system.

Bird Feeders

Good bird feeders are those which are convenient to fill, and have a capacity of holding a good amount of bird seed. Having a good capacity has two advantages, first it doesn't have to refilled again and again, and second, as there is a good amount of food available, a greater number of birds would flock to the feeder. There are three common types of bird feeders - platform feeders, tube feeders and hopper feeders. The simplest bird feeder is the platform bird feeder, which features an open tray that can be filled with bird food supply. Tube bird feeder, especially designed to feed small song birds, has a feeding port which facilitates the birds to directly feed from the reservoir. In hopper bird feeders, the seeds are dispensed by the central reservoir while the birds eat. You can either buy a bird feeder or make a bird feeder of your own. As different bird species have different food preferences, the placement and the variety of seeds that is used in the bird feeder determines the number and species of birds attracted towards the feeder.

Squirrel Proof Bird Feeder

The biggest threat for your bird feeding activity comes from the squirrels in your backyard. These squirrels don't just eat the food, but also carry it away to their borrows for hoarding. A traditional method to keep this nuisance away is to crush red pepper flakes and mix it with the seeds. These mixture don't harm the birds as they lack the receptor to which capsaicin, the active component of chili pepper, bonds. But if the squirrels eat that, they are bound to suffer and hence they stay away. This can be an ideal way to get rid of squirrels from your bird house. Though, this method is still useful, innovations have led to development of various anti-squirrel devices, such as squirrel-proof bird feeders.

Some squirrel proof bird feeders are designed in such a way that the perches collapse if the weight exceeds beyond a limit. They are just designed to support the weight of birds, if squirrels try to raid the food, the perch collapses thus throwing the squirrel down. Another type of squirrel proof bird feeder renders a light shock, powered by a battery, to the intruder. There also exist mechanical squirrel proof bird feeders which detect overweight and start spinning the perch to throw off the squirrel. Caged bird feeders are helpful in keeping the squirrels out. Though birds can easily pass through the small gaps left in the cage, it's not possible for squirrels to pass through them, thus making your bird feeder squirrel proof. Such caged feeders are ideal for feeding small birds. The placement of the cage is also an important factors when it comes to keeping squirrels off the bird food. Placing the feeder in isolation can be the simplest way for this. Baffles can be used to disallow these pests from gaining a foothold on the feeder or prevent them from climbing.

Though they look very simple, a squirrel proof bird feeder can work wonders keeping squirrels at bay, and allow you to take the full delight of your bird feeding or bird watching activity.