Birds, like everyone else, have preferences for how what, and where they want to eat. A backyard feeder is a need if you appreciate admiring the elegance, beauty, and acrobatics of birds. Start with a single feeder or scatter many feeders throughout your yard, each stocked with a different kind of food, to attract the most fantastic bird species.
Humans have undoubtedly studied birds from the beginning of time. And at least as far back as Henry David Thoreau, who in the middle of the nineteenth century spoke of throwing unripe grain on the ground outside his cottage at Walden Pond, we may trace the deliberate feeding of birds just for the enjoyment of observing them. The practice of leaving out food to attract neighborhood songbirds gained popularity in the late 1800s, partly because Florence Merriam Webster’s field guide, Birds Through an Opera Glass, was published. This book undoubtedly encouraged many bird lovers to start backyard bird feeding.
The following century saw a significant increase in bird watching and feeding popularity. Today an estimated 50 million American families engage in the activity in one way or another. Like gardening, feeding birds encourages a sense of connectedness to the natural world and other living things.
Basics of Bird Feeders
Although they may have distinct appearances, high-quality bird feeders have a few traits. They ought to all:
Designed to keep seed dry and durable enough to endure bad weather
easy to clean
specifically made for the kind of birdseed (or other food) you want to use