Puppy Care

species of birds

Bird feeding is not an easy thing. You cannot simply put some bird food on a plate and set it under a tree. Soon there will be other uninvited guests eating all of the food and leaving nothing for the birds. Mice, squirrels and raccoons are some of the animals that will eat up the wild bird seed. Squirrels rank at the top of the chain and the pilfering habits of squirrels deprive the wild birds of their food. The only thing that can be done is to make your bird feeder squirrel proof.

There are many different bird feeders on the market for the wild species of birds you would like to attract. You will find that many of them are topped with plastic domes to keep the pesky squirrels from getting the wild bird food. The squirrel proof bird feeders have plastic domes fitted at the top and at the bottom. When the squirrels try to climb up the pole or descend the suspension wire they encounter the deterrent. Unable to tackle it they fall to the ground, spilling a little bit of seed in the process, which they eat. But the amazing thing is the creatures try this very trick again and again till they are full. Squirrels definitely find ingenuous ways of getting what they want from a squirrel proof bird feeder.

The market is flooded with squirrel proof feeders. Choosing the right one is tricky. Hummingbird feeders do not attract squirrels, yet hopper feeders, bird tables and platform stands will no doubt maximize the chance of attracting squirrels. So always place your bird feeder away from trees and house roofs that the squirrels can use as jumping points, and your migratory birds should get the food you have left for them.

Another way of making a bird feeder squirrel proof is to keep bird food in the feeder that is unpalatable to the squirrels. Suet bird food or cakes that are preferred by birds are not liked by the squirrels. Safflower seeds and niger thistle are other bird foods that squirrels disdain completely.