If you haven’t gotten into feeding birds yet, you’re missing out. It’s peaceful, adds a calm and inviting atmosphere to your home, and it also gives you a sense of fulfillment.
You’re providing for your local wildlife, and you can watch the impact you have. It’s a unique hobby that’s going to stay with you forever.
However, you might be wondering: how does a bird feeder work? Today, we’re going to go over that, and then we’ll touch more on why you need one in your backyard.
Let’s get started.
How a Bird Feeder Works
First and foremost, we can’t possibly go over every bird feeder on the market. There are tons of them with different mechanisms and features that dramatically change how they work.
However, we can go over some of the most common mechanisms in a more general sense. For this, we can break it into three categories.
1. Gravity Feeding
This is the most common type of bird feeder, and it works perfectly fine for a wide variety of bird species. Essentially, you load up whatever the storage compartment is on the particular model you buy, and then the food slowly descends as the birds eat it.
This is great. It functions as a type of portion control to prevent waste. The birds can eat until they’re full, but when they stop eating, the food stops falling. You can load it up with more food than other designs can take, but you don’t have to worry about it spilling everywhere and going to waste.
Unfortunately, while this is a great system, it’s not optimal for all bird species. Specifically, it’s useless for hummingbirds, woodpeckers, and similar birds, and very small species such as bluebirds that need more protection than these feeders offer.
With that being said, hummingbird feeders are still designed with the same general concept. The only core difference is that they’re made to supply sweet fluid to hummingbirds rather than stockpile dry food such as seeds.
2. Protected Feeders
Protected feeders come in a wide variety of designs. They’re usually made for birds that are very small and prone to being eaten by backyard critters. With these, there isn’t a fancy mechanism in most cases.
The most common protection method is to make the entrance too small for predators to get in, and then you sit food inside of it.
There are other takes on this, though. Some bird feeder models are placed on top of flexible poles that make it hard for squirrels to scale, others have weighted systems for dispensing food so only the intended species is likely to get into it, etc.
These are great as long as you buy the right one for the type of bird you’re trying to attract. Not every protection mechanism will be suitable for every bird species.
3. Suet Feeders
Suet feeders are unique. They’re typically meant for woodpeckers, chickadees, and similar birds.
Suet is a nutrient-dense block of food, and it can come in a variety of specific recipes. Some are based around nuts, others have seeds, and so on and so forth.
Feeders for suet come in a wide variety of forms, but they all do the same basic thing. They encase a block of solid suet. Birds cling onto the feeder, and they can peck away at this fat-dense treat.
Usually, it’s sandwiched between a mesh that birds can get their beaks into, but squirrels can’t nab the block and run. Although some suet feeders leave the block right out in the open, it’s first-come, first-served in that case.
Why You Need a Bird Feeder in Your Backyard
A lot of people think of getting a bird feeder as a neat yard decoration that you sometimes look at for a minute to see a simple bird, but it is so much more than that.
We touched on this briefly earlier, but it’s more complicated.
Here are some of the things that you’re going to absolutely love about having a bird feeder in your backyard.
1. Peace and Quiet with a Touch of Nature
We can’t all get out in nature and practically live there. Life tends to keep us away from that natural experience we crave so much. You can bring a little bit of nature to you for a time, though.
That’s what a bird feeder does. You’ll attract wildlife into the comfort of your backyard, and as long as you treat them right, you’ll have a free-range zoo in your backyard. It’s not just birds that you get to see, either.
Squirrels, chipmunks, and other critters will come up to get a snack. You might even attract bigger animals, such as deer, if you live in the right spot and get lucky.
Even with all that excitement, it’s as peaceful as getting out for a good walk in the woods.
2. The Excitement of Seeing New Things
It’s not often you can say that you sit on your porch or gaze out a window every day and see something you’ve never seen before, but with a unique bird feeding system, that’s often the case.
The average person doesn’t stop and identify all the birds around them. Half the time, they likely don’t even realize just how many birds are within view.
When you focus them into one place and take time to relax there each day, you’ll be amazed by the new things you’ll see.
Maybe you’ve never actually seen a hummingbird up close before, or you didn’t know certain bird species even lived near you, but you installed a bird feeder, and now you’re seeing entirely new animals for the first time.
3. Home Appeal
When you first start, you’re probably just going to get a nice bird feeder and try it out. However, as you get into it, which you will, you will start expanding.
If you’re anything like our customers, your small tip-toe into the hobby will turn into creating whole, elaborately themed bird havens in your backyard. This transforms the space for you and your guests to create something truly unique.
Get Your First Bird Feeder at The Birdhouse Chick
So, how does a bird feeder work? We hope you’ve got a better idea now, and maybe even a little inspiration to get started.
Your first birdhouse is going to spark a love for birds you didn’t know was possible. Make it a good one and browse our selection of the best bird feeders and more at The Birdhouse Chick.
Browse our collection now, and feel free to contact us anytime with any questions. We look forward to hearing from you!
