Wondering if anyone else has had problems with the birds sitting on the perch eating their favorite seed, while pushing the rest onto the ground?
597619
I only feed black sunflower seed as I have had birds do just that many years ago: it is natural behavior for some birds.
597620
This is typical bird behavior. We all have our favorite foods. Suggest you check with local bird food seller and/or also some foods advise what bird prefers what food. One thing to remember birds are finding fresh food at this time of year. Not sure where you are in US but it has been my experience, if not now, surely by fall and winter the ground feeding birds will go after all the seed they can find. In our area, white crown sparrows, juncos, varied thrush, towhees and so forth benefit from the seeming selectivity of perching feeders.
597621
Sure but that's what birds do. Don't blame the feeder. We added a small squirell guard just below the feeder and get a lot of mileage from our seed.
597622
I only feed sunflower seeds. They push some on the ground, but then the others eat them or the squirrels do.
597623
Oh yes! All the time!Birds will take their favorites, and the seed that they throw onto the ground gets eaten by other birds.Or in my case it sometimes gets eaten by the dogs or the cats!Jeff, you are exactly right, but I wonder where you are in the US!?I'm in southern Connecticut, Lyme, as in Lyme Disease, which is a tiny town, pop 2000, unless whatshername has her baby, then we'll be 2001!We have had a shortage of canaries (Yellow Finches) lately, we have a thistle seed feeder just for the finches, but they've not come here.The hummingbirds have been drinking 2 cups of sugar water every day though! Oh yes! All the time!Birds will take their favorites, and the seed that they throw onto the ground gets eaten by other birds.Or in my case it sometimes gets eaten by the dogs or the cats!Jeff, you are exactly right, but I wonder where you are in the US!?I'm in southern Connecticut, Lyme, as in Lyme Disease, which is a tiny town, pop 2000, unless whatshername has her baby, then we'll be 2001!We have had a shortage of canaries (Yellow Finches) lately, we have a thistle seed feeder just for the finches, but they've not come here.The hummingbirds have been... » Read More Oh yes! All the time!Birds will take their favorites, and the seed that they throw onto the ground gets eaten by other birds.Or in my case it sometimes gets eaten by the dogs or the cats!Jeff, you are exactly right, but I wonder where you are in the US!?I'm in southern Connecticut, Lyme, as in Lyme Disease, which is a tiny town, pop 2000, unless whatshername has her baby, then we'll be 2001!We have had a shortage of canaries (Yellow Finches) lately, we have a thistle seed feeder just for the finches, but they've not come here.The hummingbirds have been drinking 2 cups of sugar water every day though! « Show Less
597624
Oh sure. Birds always do that regardless of the feeder. I've even seen them go out of their way to pick out items from a suet cake and drop them. All you can do is try to stock as much of the "favorite food" of the majority of the birds that visit your feeder. That might limit the variety of birds though. My chickadees only seem to want peanuts or corn while the finches eat only millet. Most of the niger seeds and sunflower seeds go over the side but the towhees and squirrels police those up off the ground. All just "part of the show."
1523320
We had to remove the other bird feeders in our yard for a week or so, so the birds had "no choice" but to use this one. At first, I thought it was going to be a wash because once the birds found it, they would still just grab one or two seeds and then fly away to eat them, then return only to fly away again to eat. I was a little bummed out because it seemed like more of a buffet tray than a table. Fast forward another few weeks and now we have woodpeckers, cardinals, and titmice that visit several times a day. I have my two feeders right next to one another about 3 feet from my desk and they don't hesitate to swoop right in. One thing you might want to consider is that the birds might want a "resting area" within three feet of the feeders so they avoid crashing into them ... a pole or plant or stick allows them to fly on to that and land, then take the little hop over to the feeders so they aren't coming in at full steam. Good luck, you and your cats should have a lot of fun! :)
917361
Hmm, that is a good question. If they are heavy enough, when they climb onto the circular bar that the birds sit on to feed, the bar will be weighted down - drawing an outer plastic sheath over the feed holes (I hope this makes sense), which makes them completely inaccessible. The birds are so light, which is what makes it possible for them to sit on the bar and still access the seed. If possible, I would check what the weight threshold is for the spring inside the mechanism...if you have big rats....should be no problem!
1535519
Feeder has worked well -- little spillage and the seed stays dry. Have been refilling it from the top all summer and the nyjer seed at the bottom seems to be OK. I plan to dump it out and check before refilling for the winter but I don't expect to have to throw out the bottom seed. Finches eat from it but so do other small birds. If you want to restrict feeding to only finches, buy an upside down feeder (holes are below the perches, not above). Took the finches a day or two to get the hang of it but they really do feed hanging upside down and no other birds do this so all the nyjer seed in this type of feeder goes to finches. Feeder has worked well -- little spillage and the seed stays dry. Have been refilling it from the top all summer and the nyjer seed at the bottom seems to be OK. I plan to dump it out and check before refilling for the winter but I don't expect to have to throw out the bottom seed. Finches eat from it but so do other small birds. If you want to restrict feeding to only finches, buy an upside down feeder (holes are below the perches, not above). Took the finches a day or two to get the hang of it but they really do feed hanging upside down and no other birds do this so all the nyjer seed in... » Read More Feeder has worked well -- little spillage and the seed stays dry. Have been refilling it from the top all summer and the nyjer seed at the bottom seems to be OK. I plan to dump it out and check before refilling for the winter but I don't expect to have to throw out the bottom seed. Finches eat from it but so do other small birds. If you want to restrict feeding to only finches, buy an upside down feeder (holes are below the perches, not above). Took the finches a day or two to get the hang of it but they really do feed hanging upside down and no other birds do this so all the nyjer seed in this type of feeder goes to finches. « Show Less
1573616
I'm in New England and the prominent birds that use the feeder are Goldfinches. That was the problem they hang out at this feeder & the titmice, chickadees, nuthatches don't have a chance to get the seed. We do have a finch feeder out but they prefer this. I have seen downy & hairy woodpeckers also occasionally a cardinal give it a go if it is quiet. Crackles (blackbirds) also are on the feeder. I'm looking for another feeder that will accommodate the variety of birds we are used to feeding.
132728
I am not sure what you mean by the birds getting stuck. Do you mean they are actually trapped in the feeding holes? If so, I never heard of that happening. Often my feeders get empty before I can get them filled, and the birds just ignore them and come back when the feeders are filled again.
1908842
I have seen the birds jump around in the seeds covered with sauce and return and return to it. It seems to cause no problems for the birds. Now, the squirrels seem to hate getting it on their paws.
331723
I would put some seed/pellets in the whole feeder (not just the back but also under the little perch). Stick your hand in there and start picking at the food with your fingers. The Cockatiels should be curious and hungry. That might help them get the idea.
884390
I've had a bit of a problem with them and have had a bit of success with plain scare tactics - like tapping the box when they're in there - and putting only hard seed in like safflower, large sunflower (not black oil) and thistle. I got this from http://nestwatch.org/learn/all-about-birdhouses/managing-house-sparrows-and-european-starlings/ in the section on feeding.
2235852
There is no perch. I have only seen small finches and such on it. I have thistle in mine. I have never seen a large bird on it.
901661
I filled the base with sand, removed a couple inches of dirt from the spot where it's permanently mounted plus put a couple of bricks on top. We do have some very large raccoons that visit at night but they eat the seeds the birds have knocked out of the feeder tray and left on the ground. Never had anything try to tip it over and don't really think anything could due to weight of base being firmed implanted in ground.
1461722
No! It's quite entertaining to watch the repeated attempts on the part of the "rats with furry tails" to access the seed to no avail. The only drawback is the frustrated squirrel will often urinate on the feeder. This in no way affects the birds returning to the feeder. I should note that the feeder has an adjustable spring for the closure device that can be set such that bigger birds cannot get into the feeder.
1280661
We have mostly sparrows that get in to the feeder at the moment, but not having had it that long, I'm not sure. We will get Cardinals later on, so will have to see if they can get in through the holes. The feeder is wonderful, and may have to get another one, as we have a smaller one, but the birds ignore it. It might be worth trying it, as other small birds would love it anyway.
1055600
How long has it been? It can take a week or two for the birds to notice it and trust it. Do you have other feeders the birds go to? Is this one out in the open? What kind of seeds are you using?
1319759
There is a plastic "tray" that sits in the bottom of the feeder. THis lets seed gradually fill the four feeding slots. However, bird seed does spill out a little when more active birds feed - finches, grackles etc.
4102
I don't think there's a remedy for the messy birds. Like you said, they pick through the food to get what they want. I guess you have to move the Feeder. I put ours over a bush, so we don't see the seed all over the place.
2191196
It might have taken a day or two but the birds love the feeder. I use black oil sunflower seeds and they gobble them up every day. Give it a little more time or maybe move it to a different location. I have two of them and they are in a small tree near the bird bath. Good luck I hope it works out for you.