My Favorite Bird Feeders In My Backyard

I love feeding the birds in my backyard and I have high standards. I frequently teach others to attract backyard birds both locally and through our YouTube channel.

I have 6 feeders and use different mixes to appeal to different species. I also have a pretty high tolerance for chipmunks and squirrels but have recently acquired a squirrel proof feeder.

So here are the feeders currently in my yard and a couple that didn’t make the cut. Reviews are my honest opinions and I will let you know if I purchased the feeder or if it was a donation.

My cat Pixie LOVES this feeder and it gives her great enjoyment to sit on the plant table and watch the birds and chipmunks.

Clear Window Bird Feeder

This is one of my favorite bird feeders because it brings the birds so close to us. This window is about four feet from my desk so it gives me great joy as I am working. It also gives my cats an unending source of pleasure (and mental stimulation)!

I purchased this Clear Window Bird Feeder on Amazon. Its the second one I’ve had and I like it because it has five suction cups (many only have three) and holds really well. Mine holds seed plus an adult squirrel. In addition, its super easy to clean. It slides off the cups and I bring it in and give it a good scrubbing. Also the seed tray lifts out for cleaning and refilling.

This feeder attracts a variety of birds but the smaller species come more often. The mourning doves occasionally try it but they are a tad to big and cant really fit.

Species it attracts:

American goldfinch, Black-capped Chickadee, Dark-eyed Junco, House Finch, House Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, and Pine Siskin.

I saw a post one time where the person asked if these clear bird feeders were ethical, I assume since the birds are most likely becoming more habituated due to proximity. I think these bird feeders are just fine for several reasons. 1. The birds in my yard have lots of options so they can choose another feeder. 2. I spend a lot of time in the yard so any bird in the area is already used to my smell and voice. 3. I do provide natural plant foods as well such as sunflowers, echinacea, and rudbeckia which provide seeds in fall in addition to insect host plants for when they have babies.

Read my article: Starting a Medicinal Herb Garden these herbs do double duty as fabulous for birds and pollinators.

Harymor Bird Feeder with Camera

My new toy is a bird feeder with a camera. I received this Harymor Bird Feeder With Camera for free to try it out. Its been a lot of fun spying on my bird friends. It’s solar powered and made with eco-friendly materials which makes me happy. It comes with a metal mounting bracket and a strap if you want to attach it on a tree.

The housing for the camera offers good protection. I had a severe thunderstorm the day after I put it up and the the bird feeder weathered the storm very well.

The camera works well. I get about 120 videos a day because I have so many birds. It also sometimes picks up our dog and me moving about the yard. There are several settings to adjust the camera speed and video length and I honestly haven’t figured it all out yet. I purchased a memory card to store photos as well.

Video from the Harymor Bird Feeder

I think the app, Vico Nature, is just soso. The AI identification program makes mistakes. Granted many of the smaller songbirds look similar. In Wisconsin we have black capped chickadees. However the app identifies them as chestnut backed chickadee which is native to the west coast and doesnt live here. In addition, it has labeled house sparrows as the California Towhee another non-native bird in my area. The app is a free trial so you can see if it suits you. It does have information about the birds which is nice if you are a beginner birder but its not necessary to run the camera.

It’s a great budget friendly model.

Kingsyard Squirrel Proof Bird Feeder

Speaking of squirrels, Kingsyard sent me this bird feeder for free to put to the test. This is the Kingsyard Squirrel Proof Feeder It’s only been up a week but so far the squirrels have not gained access and they have tried. There is an open feeder next to it so my hope is the squirrels are happy with that and leave the Kingsyard for the smaller song birds.

I like that this feeder is metal so easy to clean. Both the top and bottom come off so you can run water through getting out debris. Also metal is nice since the squirrels cant chew on it. Kingsyard has a website with some good information. I was happy to see they referenced Cornell University All About Birds which is a leader in bird research and bird watching information.

Poles are great to hang feeders on. I don’t put more than two feeders on the same pole since two many birds causes squabbles! These feeders compliment each other since the Kingsyard is best for smaller song birds and the Blains accommodates larger birds like mourning doves.

Basic Hopper Feeder

I bought this hopper feeder at Blains (local feed store) a couple years ago but I dont see it on their website. It’s very basic, easy to clean, and holds lots of food. Although I only fill my feeders about 1/4 of the way because then their is less waste. It has a wider platform so easily holds the bigger birds.

In addition to the smaller birds I mentioned above it has attracted:

Brown-headed cowbirds, European Starling, Grackles, Mourning doves, Red wing blackbirds.

Ive put mealworms in it as well. I have lots of robins, two nests this spring, and I was trying to attract them but they weren’t interested.

Suet feeder and finch feeder

Suet Feeder

In the front yard I have another pole station with a suet feeder which I purchased at my local feed store and a finch feeder. I typically don’t feed suet in July and August due to the heat. The downy woodpeckers and the smaller songbirds feed on the suet and its a great energy source in winter.

Bird Bath

A water source is important not just in the hot days of summer but during winter freezes. Water is a fluid for drinking but also important for preening and keeping feathers clean.

I have a very inexpensive, low tech hanging bird bath which I got on Amazon. It hangs in the crab apple tree and we often see the birds using it although I haven’t gotten a good picture.

You can see behind it on the back fence is an insect hibernaculum. I made these several years ago with a girl scout troop.

My hanging bird bath and insect hibernaculum . The plastic fencing goes around the cherry tree. We are fine sharing with the wildlife but we don’t want the dog to eat them and get sick!

Winter

Freezing temperatures can take their toll on bird feeders.

The Bad!

I love a sale and I purchased this metal tube feeder because it was 25% off. Always make sure the bird feeder you purchase is easy to take apart both for easy cleaning and releasing stuck animals. I did not do this.

The feeder was hard to clean and a little feed mouse got stuck inside. Their leg was caught and I had to take wire snips to cut the feeder and free their leg. The mouse was ok and ran away giving me hate looks.

Author, Ame Vanorio, is the founder of Fox Run EEC, an environmental educator and Master Gardener.