Striped Sunflower

The placement of your feeders will depend on your yard or balcony size. For smaller yards, many people choose to just have one feeder, and it's best to place it about 10 feet away from trees or shrubbery so birds can safely fly to the feeder and back to the shelter to perch. For larger yards, having multiple feeders and feeder types is a great way to attract the most birds as possible. As the birds nest, they become more territorial and spacing feeders throughout your yard is critical so birds can comfortably come to the feeders.

If you are adding feeders to your yard for the first time, it's important to remember that it can take time for birds to discover the new food source. During warmer months, when there is an abundance of natural food available, birds will come by less often. As the temperature cools, bird feeders begin seeing much more traffic. It can also help to try at least two feeders and two different bird seed blends to attract as many species as possible. Another quick trick to attract birds to your feeder is to also add a bird bath nearby, particularly a heated bird bath in winter when water is hard to come by.

Always store your leftover bird seed in an airtight container that is rodent-proof. It's best to keep your container in a cool, dry place. This will both keep the bird seed fresh as well as free from being eaten by unwanted pests. It's also important not to mix new bird seed with old bird seed.

The amount of birds in your area and time of year are the biggest factors in how much bird seed you will go through, but a good rule of thumb is that a typical bird feeder will go through about 1-2 pounds of bird seed per week.

There are hundreds of "proven" methods to deterring squirrels from bird feeders, but there are three options things you can do that give the squirrels the hardest time getting to your bird seed: