Window feeders: birds at arm's length

Window feeders solve two problems at once: they work when you have no yard, no ground and no permission to drill, and they put birds close enough that you can see the individual feathers. For anyone in an apartment they are often the only option, and they are a better one than their reputation suggests.

The safety question, answered properly

People reasonably worry that a feeder on the glass causes collisions. The published guidance points the other way. The American Bird Conservancy states that more than a billion birds die from collisions with glass every year in the United States, and the standard placement advice is that feeders belong either very close to a window or well away from it.

The mechanism is speed. A bird startled off a feeder mounted on the glass has inches, not yards, to accelerate — an impact at that distance is usually survivable. A feeder fifteen feet out gives it a runway. So a window feeder is not the risky option; the middle distance is. More in keeping birds safe.

What to look for

1. More than one suction cup, on a bracket rather than a single pad. A feeder's whole weight on one cup is what fails first in a freeze; makers do not always publish the count, so check the photographs.
2. A body that slides out. Refilling a fixed window feeder means opening the window and reaching around it, which in February you will simply stop doing.
3. A roof with an overhang. Small feeders soak quickly; a pitched roof keeps the tray usable.
4. Small capacity, and be glad of it. 1.5 lb refilled weekly keeps seed fresh in a feeder that sits against warm glass.

Getting birds to use it

Window feeders take longer to be found than yard feeders, particularly above the ground floor. What helps:

• Put something living near it — a planter or a hanging basket gives birds a staging post.
• Use black oil sunflower, which has the widest appeal of any single seed.
• Keep the seed level visible from outside for the first few weeks.
• Be patient. A month is not unusual on a high floor.

More in how to attract birds to a new feeder.

The cold-weather failure

Suction cups fail in a hard freeze, and they lose grip as the glass and the cup collect grime. Clean both with warm soapy water, dry them, and press the cup firmly onto glass that is not freezing. Re-seat them at the start of every cold season. This is the main maintenance job a window feeder has.

Squirrels and window feeders

More often than people expect. Squirrels use sills, brick, downpipes and neighboring ledges as readily as branches, and there is no way to baffle a window. If they find yours, the only levers are moving it to a smoother stretch of wall or accepting the visits. There is no window equivalent of a pole baffle.

Cleaning

Same schedule as everything else — every week or two, more often in wet weather. Window feeders make this easy, because the feeder is right there and the body slides out. That convenience is worth more than the small capacity costs you. Method here. A deck rail is the other no-yard option.