Does anyone know if cardinals use this kind of feeder? Does it prevent doves/pigeon?I m looking for one that cardinals like & prevent large birds.Thx!
1537793
My Squirrel Buster is the smaller version. I haven't seen Cardinals come to it, only smaller birds.
1537794
Mr & Mrs Cardinal were eating black sunflower seeds from these and also sunflower hearts. They were also feeding their babies who waited on the rail below the feeder. The cardinals also liked the suet that we supplied. We have doves but they stayed away from these feeders. We have no pigeons here.
1537795
My cardinals won't use it, neither do the doves. Both are here daily and are satisfied with what the other birds throw down. I have seen cardinals on this feeder at my girl friends house at the coast.
1537796
Yes, I find Cardinals on mine everyday! The doves do not go on it -- they just take whatever is dropped on the ground.
1537797
I dont have cardinals in my neck of the woods, so I cannot tell you for sure. But we do have robins and towhees at the large end of the spectrum, and all manner of finches, chickadees and sparrows at the small end. All of them like to use this feeder, but the larger stellers jays, crows and other nuisances seem to stay away. It isn't large enough to accommodate them - and that's a good thing. To avoid marauding raccoons, I take the feeder in at night and put it up first thing in the morning. Hope this helps.
1537798
Yes! I have a ton of cardinals who use it every day. Now I'm seeing a bunch of fledglings. The doves are ground feeders at my place. I feed in the feeder and on the ground. Blue jays can't use it. They eat on the ground.
420277
Cardinals can and do go on it. It does not prevent doves, but they are ground feeders, generally, so they just eat the leftovers off the ground at our house. It works great -- no more squirrels.
1850658
I wondered the same about larger birds being attracted to the feeder. It is always covered with smaller birds, (finches, nuthatches, titmouse) but now the cardinals have joined in and feed from it daily along with various smaller types of woodpeckers.
992082
If you're attracting doves and other ground feeders.... simply sprinkle your feed on the ground or get a bird block. Otherwise, personal taste. I like the tubes with perches for the other birds. Get a quality tube feed if you go that route. The cheap ones are quickly devoured by the sun. Tomas in Tucson
1573614
Many titmouses, cardinals, chickadees....regular run of the mill birds......all kinds ! Have no idea what your problem is! Maybe something is scaring them away from your feeder.....movement.....
331463
It works very well with sunflower seed. That is what I use exclusively. the Cardinals will go to the perch of the feeder and eat from there.
746375
i WOULD SAY YES. I have red wing black birds and blackbirds as well as little yellow wrens eating out of mind. I have not had cardinals yet. I have doves but have not seen them at this feeder. Lynne
2013853
No the cardinals did not perch - chickadees & finches did. It gets filled on the top. I had to take the feeder down because the squirrels were able to get the sunflower seeds out.
75127
Woodpeckers and Nuthatches are the main users of the feeder. Other birds try, but do not have much luck. I have had some sparrows try, but they are not very successful. They try to hand by one leg..kinda funny looking. A cake lasts well over a month for me, and I have a lot of birds coming to it daily. It is my favorite feeder.
151610
IF you have it hanging, it needs to be protected from predators & squirrels; IF it's pole-mounted, as long as the feeder is high enough to keep predators away (& hopefully has a baffle of some sort under it to keep squirrels from climbing up). Also make sure that the seed is good (not moldy). BTW - are you using Black Oil Sunflower Seed? Our Cardinals (as well as numerous other species) love it & are on the feeder constantly. We found that the (usually) super cheap "Wild Bird Seed" has so much filler in it that no one wants it & there's a lot of waste. Many Cardinals & others will ground-feed, as well.Good luck! IF you have it hanging, it needs to be protected from predators & squirrels; IF it's pole-mounted, as long as the feeder is high enough to keep predators away (& hopefully has a baffle of some sort under it to keep squirrels from climbing up). Also make sure that the seed is good (not moldy). BTW - are you using Black Oil Sunflower Seed? Our Cardinals (as well as numerous other species) love it & are on the feeder constantly. We found that the (usually) super cheap "Wild Bird Seed" has so much filler in it that no one wants it & there's a lot of waste. Many Cardinals & others will... » Read More IF you have it hanging, it needs to be protected from predators & squirrels; IF it's pole-mounted, as long as the feeder is high enough to keep predators away (& hopefully has a baffle of some sort under it to keep squirrels from climbing up). Also make sure that the seed is good (not moldy). BTW - are you using Black Oil Sunflower Seed? Our Cardinals (as well as numerous other species) love it & are on the feeder constantly. We found that the (usually) super cheap "Wild Bird Seed" has so much filler in it that no one wants it & there's a lot of waste. Many Cardinals & others will ground-feed, as well.Good luck! « Show Less
1663016
I have the squirrel buster mini (older version) on the upper deck. Doves cannot use this feeder as they are big and cannot sit on the four perches provided. Woodpeckers (big and small) cling onto the feeder and family of cardinals (big and small) sit on the perches to feed all the time. This is the newer version of the mini and is better constructed.
1663009
I have not seen any doves using this feeder.( It is hung on an upper deck, so it may be higher than they like.) No woodpeckers either, but nuthatches, titmice, finches, chickadees and of course sparrows all use it.
885920
I don't get cardinals where I live. I do have stellar blue jays, and they don't use this bird feeder. However, the chickadees and nuthatches like it. I think it's best for smaller birds.
639682
I'm not sure if it will prevent them from eating at the feeder. The doves at our feeder eat off of the ground though. Maybe that is why?
1453930
We have not had a problem with this. We have several bird feeders in our yard, and this is a favorite. The cardinals love this feeder!
746370
We have lots of doves in our yard, but none of them seem to use the feeder. Hope this helps.
1122570
If you can operate a #3 Phillips screw driver you can tighten down the lid so a squirrel can't get in. If you want a squirrel proof feeder get one of those cylinder mesh feeders inside a cage. I have one and after one try the squirrels just totally gave up on it. But, the Cardinals were too intimidated to feed inside the cage. Hundreds of wrens and the usual suspects, but no Cardinals. So I bought a no-no Cardinal feeder and hung it right next to my squirrel proof cylinder cage, and whithin an hour the cardinals started feeding at it. To get to the no-no cardinal feeder the squirrels have to first jump on the cage feeder and they have just given up. If you can operate a #3 Phillips screw driver you can tighten down the lid so a squirrel can't get in. If you want a squirrel proof feeder get one of those cylinder mesh feeders inside a cage. I have one and after one try the squirrels just totally gave up on it. But, the Cardinals were too intimidated to feed inside the cage. Hundreds of wrens and the usual suspects, but no Cardinals. So I bought a no-no Cardinal feeder and hung it right next to my squirrel proof cylinder cage, and whithin an hour the cardinals started feeding at it. To get to the no-no cardinal feeder the squirrels have... » Read More If you can operate a #3 Phillips screw driver you can tighten down the lid so a squirrel can't get in. If you want a squirrel proof feeder get one of those cylinder mesh feeders inside a cage. I have one and after one try the squirrels just totally gave up on it. But, the Cardinals were too intimidated to feed inside the cage. Hundreds of wrens and the usual suspects, but no Cardinals. So I bought a no-no Cardinal feeder and hung it right next to my squirrel proof cylinder cage, and whithin an hour the cardinals started feeding at it. To get to the no-no cardinal feeder the squirrels have to first jump on the cage feeder and they have just given up. « Show Less
1458446
Cardinals feed at mine all the time. Even a red bellied woodpecker manages to feed on it. I've had mine for years & years and it really works to keep the squirrels from the bird food. Funny to watch them try though!