Bird feeders [View all]

[matt819]

In contrast to many in this group, I'm not a birder. Just a backyard bird fan and feeder.

I have a couple of questions.

Why are bird feeders so darned expensive? And I'm not talking about Droll Yankee. All feeders seem just so expensive, even fairly straightforward platform feeders. I know there are diy plans to make them, but I'm not exactly handy, or inclined. Anyone have sources for decent quality and decently priced feeders? I can appreciate that bird houses are a bit pricey. I've taken down six and cleaned them to get ready for the spring, I can see that there's some work and material in them. But the feeders, not so much.

Suet. How did suet become a feed option for birds. It's not a natural food source in the wild. I get the interest in what's mixed into the suet - nuts, berries, mealworms, insects. But I don't get the idea of the suet itself. Am I doing more harm than good offering suet?

Apart from your basic black oil sunflower seeds, I've had mixed results with seed mixes. Maybe my problem is that I'm not necessarily consistent. In any case, is there any sort of consensus on the "best" tube feeder feed?

I'm in the northeast, and we've had the following throughout the winter: finches, grosbeaks, blue jays, mourning doves, grackles (maybe), starlings (maybe), variety of sparrow-like birds, cardinals. We also have ravens (maybe they're crows) and some hawks, but they're not feeder birds. Heck, we thought the hawk was going to pick up one of our terriers. We've had some redwing blackbirds returning, and we saw an eastern bluebird this morning, though they're earlier than usual and may not stay longer term yet as long as the temps keep going up and down.

Thanks.