Watch Birds in your Backyard… It’s Easy!
I thought I lived in a bad location for bird watching. I don’t have any trees in my yard, although my neighbors do. I live in a pretty residential area and I thought I would have to wait to move to the country to become a backyard bird watcher. It turned out I was really, really wrong!
Years ago, I hung a bird feeder near my porch and nothing happened. This year I decided to try again, but in a different location. I decided to put in a bird feeding pole in my back lawn. Success! After a couple of weeks, birds found it and started flying between my neighbor’s bushes and my bird feeders!! At first, I only got Black-Capped Chickadees, but soon they told many other species, and Dark Eyed Juncos, Red Breasted Nuthatches, Red Winged Blackbirds, Fox Sparrows, Bushtits, and House Finches, are just a few of my new wild “pets.”
Here’s a Picture of My Bird Feeder Stand
On a rare snowy day in Western Washington!
I wondered how could I set up a bird feeder if I didn’t have anything to hang it on? It turns out there’s this Bird Feeder Station which solves the problem! As much as I enjoy DIY solutions, I was pleased that someone else had already addressed this issue with this easy to assemble metal pole with 4 hangers.
The bird feeder pole can hold 4 bird feeders. This is great because I love experimenting with different feeders to see how long it takes the birds to try them out and to watch their behavior when something changes. You can hang bird feeders and suet feeders.
This bird feeder stand is designed well because the feeders won’t knock into each other when the wind blows. We’ve had some high winds (gusts of 40mph) and we didn’t have any problems!
It also turns out that the birds like standing on the metal pole and arms too. Sometimes they use it as a waiting area as they take turns at the feeder. You can hang pretty much any kind of feeder. I’ve got a Chalet Bird Feeder and a Suet Feeder.
My Most Popular Bird Feeder
This “house” style bird feeder really attracted more birds to my yard. It holds 5 pounds of seed, but that doesn’t mean it’ll stay full longer! When you put out more food, you get more birds, and so your enjoyment soars but your bird watching budget might need some adjusting! Personally, I find the cost of seed well worth the amount of fun I get from it!
Provide Suet – You’ll Attract Some Birds that Don’t Eat Seed
The downy woodpecker is a small guy, just a little bigger than a Chickadee. The male has a gorgeous red spot on the back of his head. The female doesn’t have the red mark. I’ve had both the female and male downy woodpeckers come to my suet, usually about once a day. My suet is just your standard store bought woodpecker or song bird suet. I’ve put out both, and they seem to like each equally well.