I've finally decided I'd like to start feeding the birds. My grandparents have a couple bird feeders on a line of string, and they attract not only birds, but squirrels, chipmunks, and hawks. I love seeing this little bubble of wildlife. What is the best bird feeder to keep out squirrels, but is also not a ton of money? What's the best all-purpose bird seed that will attract a wide range of birds? Does that even exist?

I buy a baffle for my shepherd's hook to prevent squirrels from helping themselves.

I like hopper feeders personally.

Lastly, black oil sunflower seems to be the best seed for me.

I also feed safflower, suet, and mixed seed (in a ground feeder tray). Oh yeah, and some peanuts for the furry ones (squirrels).

I love this feeder. It's cheap (like $10) and easy to clean. I had a $20 metal feeder and I found it hard to clean.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Garde...

I use it for my blackoil.

I use this one for my safflower:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Stoke...

Also cheap ($7 I think) and easy to clean.

This says four ports, but it only holds two cakes. I love how it has two doors that open outward. Some suet feeders have you drop them in, which I found annoying.
https://www.acehardware.com/de...

Lastly, I use this suet. I've tried several flavors, brands, etc and my woodpeckers loooove this stuff. And, I've found it's not all that greasy compared to others. A major plus!
https://www.tractorsupply.com/...

Hamwild said:I buy a baffle for my shepherd's hook to prevent squirrels from helping themselves.

I like hopper feeders personally.

Lastly, black oil sunflower seems to be the best seed for me.

I also feed safflower, suet, and mixed seed (in a ground feeder tray). Oh yeah, and some peanuts for the furry ones (squirrels).

I love this feeder. It's cheap (like $10) and easy to clean. I had a $20 metal feeder and I found it hard to clean.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Garde...

I use it for my blackoil.

I use this one for my safflower:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Stoke...

Also cheap ($7 I think) and easy to clean.

This says four ports, but it only holds two cakes. I love how it has two doors that open outward. Some suet feeders have you drop them in, which I found annoying.
https://www.acehardware.com/de...

Lastly, I use this suet. I've tried several flavors, brands, etc and my woodpeckers loooove this stuff. And, I've found it's not all that greasy compared to others. A major plus!
https://www.tractorsupply.com/...

Wow, that first bird feeder is the same one my grandfather uses! I'm not very privy to the names of things yet, but I believe he uses a similar suet feeder, too. So does the suet feeder have the same purpose as the black oil sunflower seed feeder, or is it like an entree and main course kind of deal, or do they just attract different birds? I'm a little paranoid I'll feed the birds incorrectly and end up hurting them rather than helping. Also, that suet is a great price! I was worried I would be in it a lot of money, and that it would have to be a long process getting everything, as I have dogs and other animals that must come first as far as money goes. I know what you mean about the "greasy" suet! When I was restocking my grandfather's bird feeders while he was away, I was kinda disgusted at the greasy feeling on some of them... now I understand why
How good are squirrels at getting the bird seed? I was thinking about hanging a 3 foot s-hook from a tree and hanging the feeder from it. Would that not keep the squirrels out?

The blackoil attracts most birds (cardinals, finches, titmice, chickadees) whereas the suet attracts woodpeckers (we get red bellied and downy here). Some of the chickadees and cardinals like it too.

The safflower is kind of a bonus, but if I were to only feed one seed, it would be the blackoil. Safflower is more expensive than blackoil, so I don't see it as a "need" for the birds.

The blackoil is cheaper than other seeds and despite reading that they like millet, I found they'd push it out to the ground when mixed with blackoil and wouldn't touch it on its own. I use that mixed stuff (I can get a cheap bag of mixed seed, 20 lb for $8 at Lowes) for the ground feeding birds like doves (and the squirrels eat it).

I'm not sure about hanging from a tree. Squirrels can jump pretty far and height wise. Hopefully someone else with tree hanging can chime in and give you some pointers. But, I'd imagine you'd need a baffle that can be hung from the tree at the very least.

If you'd like a picture of my setup, I can show you how I have set mine up. It's getting dark here though, so it'll have to be tomorrow.

Hamwild said:The blackoil attracts most birds (cardinals, finches, titmice, chickadees) whereas the suet attracts woodpeckers (we get red bellied and downy here). Some of the chickadees and cardinals like it too.

The safflower is kind of a bonus, but if I were to only feed one seed, it would be the blackoil. Safflower is more expensive than blackoil, so I don't see it as a "need" for the birds.

The blackoil is cheaper than other seeds and despite reading that they like millet, I found they'd push it out to the ground when mixed with blackoil and wouldn't touch it on its own. I use that mixed stuff (I can get a cheap bag of mixed seed, 20 lb for $8 at Lowes) for the ground feeding birds like doves (and the squirrels eat it).

I'm not sure about hanging from a tree. Squirrels can jump pretty far and height wise. Hopefully someone else with tree hanging can chime in and give you some pointers. But, I'd imagine you'd need a baffle that can be hung from the tree at the very least.

If you'd like a picture of my setup, I can show you how I have set mine up. It's getting dark here though, so it'll have to be tomorrow.

I have a local Lowe's that I'm at pretty much every week. I'll look for everything you've mentioned when I'm there again. We also have a Rural King that carries some bird stuff, so I'll check it out too. Now that I know so many birds like sunflower seeds, I understand why my sunflower blooms only last a couple days! I'd love to see your setup when you can show it!

Update: I got a bird feeder and seeds! I found a 5 dollar bird feeder at Rural King and 98 cent per pound black oil sunflower seeds! I started with 5 pounds, and may move to a 40 pound bag for 14 dollars if all goes well. I have not got a suet feeder yet, but found some at Lowe's for just $1.50. Thanks for all the help, @Hamwild!

Update us on your progress!

Second update: there has not been a single bird at my bird feeder. Not even a squirrel.

Does it take time for the birds to figure out there's seeds available? Maybe it's the location. I have mine under a large Bradford pear tree hanging from a branch about 5 feet off the ground. There are birds constantly bathing in a small creek 15 feet away from the feeder, so I'm stumped as to why there have been no takers. Can anyone help with my lack of bird activity?

I think it can take up to a couple weeks tbh! It took a long time to see anyone on the suet feeder.

I had to take our feeders down for a few days after we had a hawk attack and even though they've been up for over two years, it took a few days for everyone to come back once I put them back up.

But, I think when I first put them up, it took a good week or so to see a bird. The squirrels were destroying the feeder before thebirds saw it, lol.

Hamwild said:I think it can take up to a couple weeks tbh! It took a long time to see anyone on the suet feeder.

I had to take our feeders down for a few days after we had a hawk attack and even though they've been up for over two years, it took a few days for everyone to come back once I put them back up.

But, I think when I first put them up, it took a good week or so to see a bird. The squirrels were destroying the feeder before thebirds saw it, lol.

Whew, that's a relief! I thought the birds were just not fans of me. I assumed I was going to have another mark on the "flop" list. Are hawks a problem for bird feeders? I know they hunt the squirrels and chipmunks involved, but do they go after the birds too? I constantly hear hawks around our house.

It will just take some time. I'd say, leave them up for a few months if you have to (with winter coming, they will be looking for food). But, they should show up eventually.

I think our attack was a freak accident (we had two juvenille doves that weren't as fearful as they should have been). Some hawks or other birds of prey do eat birds, but in the couple years I've been feeding, this has only happened once. We have a kite, three types of hawks, and an owl pair. So, with those odds, I think that was a rare occurrence. We've never lost a squirrel either.

Hamwild said:It will just take some time. I'd say, leave them up for a few months if you have to (with winter coming, they will be looking for food). But, they should show up eventually.

I think our attack was a freak accident (we had two juvenille doves that weren't as fearful as they should have been). Some hawks or other birds of prey do eat birds, but in the couple years I've been feeding, this has only happened once. We have a kite, three types of hawks, and an owl pair. So, with those odds, I think that was a rare occurrence. We've never lost a squirrel either.

I've seen red shoulder hawks staring at my grandparents' bird feeders, but they never seem to engage in the chaos below. I think it's super cool seeing sort of the food chain or micro niche form once you start feeding birds. The birds start coming and knock seeds to the ground, the squirrels and chipmunks get the seeds, and maybe sunflowers grow. Then you may get butterflies and hummingbirds, and from that you get praying mantis, ants and wasps. Eventually, you'll get a big hawk that stalks everyone! Anyway, you get to see all of the different things attracted, and at times interact with and even better their lives. That's what mainly attracted me to bird feeding. I like birds a lot, but seeing how something so little can impact so much in nature, is just the coolest! Sorry for the messy rant, I'm just excited to maybe see some birds soon.

I had some milo trying to grow once. And one sunflower until someone broke it. The squirrels just got some leftover suet because there wasn't much left in the feeder.

We had a red shouldered hawk land on our fence once. I think it was just trying to stay out of the rain.

Hamwild said:I had some milo trying to grow once. And one sunflower until someone broke it. The squirrels just got some leftover suet because there wasn't much left in the feeder.

We had a red shouldered hawk land on our fence once. I think it was just trying to stay out of the rain.

Even if the bird seeds didn't produce sunflowers, I would just grow them myself! We live in the suburban woods, so we have all sorts of stuff going on. It is a little unnerving hearing an Eagle call near your yard when you have 7-18 pound dogs, though. We hear great horned owls every night here, but never see them. We do hear and see large, wild turkeys.

So should I leave my bird feeder out in the winter? Birds don't actually fly south for the winter?

Same here! We have a wooded lot behind our house so we've had a deer in the woods, a possum crawl into the yard and pass away (we also live near a busy road, so my Dad thinks he may have been hit by a car ) and a raccoon that was helping itself to my suet (actually broke my old suet feeder ).

Oh wow! No eagles here at least. We have turkeys, but none live near us from what I can tell.

Not the usuals. I've seen pictures of Cardinals and Chickadees sitting on snowy feeders.

Hamwild said:Same here! We have a wooded lot behind our house so we've had a deer in the woods, a possum crawl into the yard and pass away (we also live near a busy road, so my Dad thinks he may have been hit by a car ) and a raccoon that was helping itself to my suet (actually broke my old suet feeder ).

Oh wow! No eagles here at least. We have turkeys, but none live near us from what I can tell.

Not the usuals. I've seen pictures of Cardinals and Chickadees sitting on snowy feeders.

We have coyotes, bobcats, foxes, deer, raccoons, possums, rabbits... a lot of fun animals. The coyotes carry on all night long sometimes. I have a video of a coyote fight going down near my tent from when I camped on the outskirts of the woods during winter. Like raccoons and possums, coyotes have a habit of coming too close for comfort. Then again, we are in their territory. Raccoons are just complete bears, honestly. They have a reputation of killing cats as prey, and that's scary. We have had a family of raccoons around our yard this year, and my small dogs always seem to find them and scare them up trees. Of course there's a fence between them, and I'm doing a 10 foot follow behind the dogs.

People around here swear the Indiana mountain lions are still around, but they're sadly registered as extinct since 2011.

Wow, cardinals in snow! That's something I'm excited to see. I bought my black oil sunflower seeds at Rural King for 98 cents per pound just because I didn't know how things were going to go. If birds actually start showing up, I'll probably get the 40 pound bag, and maybe even more bird feeders! Suet feeding may begin next week for me if I start getting some action here.

I'm getting a returning goldfinch, cardinal, and a squirrel feeding at my feeder! The squirrel seems to be staying in the ground rather than going to the feeder directly.


I just read that deer and rabbits will be attracted to bird seed... is that going to be a problem?

I'm not sure! We have a privacy fence, so no deer and so far no rabbits.

Also, once the squirrels stick around longer, you may notice they are more plump.

Hamwild said:

I'm not sure! We have a privacy fence, so no deer and so far no rabbits.

Also, once the squirrels stick around longer, you may notice they are more plump.

I'm worried the bird feeder will bring the deer and rabbits right up to our gardens, and they'll feel like sampling some plants while they're munching on seeds. Also, the squirrel already tried to invade the feeder. It found where I tied it, but didn't try jumping. It's given up for now.

Oh. I wish I knew what to say, but that isn't something I've experienced or have knowledge about.

Hopefully he stays given up! I had to put a baffle on the shepherd's hook that I have my hummingbird feeder on because the squirrel was climbing up the shepherd's hook and trying to have some sugar water! They can be quite detemined.