What
a great time of year to have a plethora of birds at your feeders. Very little
color to look at besides the
cardinals, nuthatches, woodpeckers & the like! A recent photo and text from
my sister recently reminded me just how hard it can be to feed just the birds.
She sent a photo of her lovely bird ‘food court’, properly baffled of course,
with a squirrel happily eating away. The caption contained a mild expletive. Say
no more…
So how do you feed the birds only? Well, in my humble opinion, it
doesn’t come cheaply. My ‘food court’ (pictured at left) has been wonderful. I
have had it so many years & it still looks new. I found out quickly that
the cylinder baffle (which is what my sister has) is not enough. So I quickly
added the cone shaped baffle. This has worked beautifully. Placement is still
important, 8 feet from any roofs or trees for them to leap from & at least
5 feet from the ground (with baffles) I also have two feeders whose ports close
when the weight of the squirrel is on them. My favorite, pictured at left, is
the Squirrel Buster plus from Brome Bird Care. Again not cheap but when you
consider the cost of seed & stress & aggravation (& possibly therapist time!), sooo worth it! See
link below. I received mine as a gift, great idea for the bird lover in your
life.
For your ‘food court’ types visit your
local bird specialty stores. The quality is excellent. If you want to just get
started then simply buy a suet feeder & some suet cakes & mount to a
tree or hang from a shepherd’s hook. The squirrels will get to it from time to
time but the initial cost would be under $10.00 for the most part. They also sell
hot & spicy suet cakes that squirrels hate but birds don’t mind.
Whichever route you choose, just enjoy every
entertaining moment!
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