Where to hang a bird feeder

Placement is the highest-leverage free decision in backyard bird feeding. It decides whether birds feel safe enough to use the feeder, whether squirrels can reach it, and whether the birds you attract survive the visit. Four numbers cover it.

The 5-7-9 rule

The clearest published shorthand for squirrel placement is Duncraft's 5-7-9 rule, and it is worth learning because it maps onto the three ways a squirrel actually arrives:

• 5 feet from below. Squirrels ascend “to heights of 4 to 5 feet when lifting off from the ground,” so hang the feeder at least five feet up.
• 7 feet from nearby objects. “When leaping horizontally, squirrels can achieve a distance of about 7 feet,” so keep an obstacle-free perimeter of at least seven feet on every side.
• 9 feet from above. “A feeder is safe from aerial invasion as long as it is placed at least 9 feet below any tree branches.”

An honest caveat. Other retailers publish larger numbers: one recommends a pole system at least ten to twelve feet from any jumping-off point, with the top of the baffle four and a half feet up. Those figures do not agree with the seven in 5-7-9, and we are not going to pretend they do. Treat seven feet as the minimum anyone recommends and ten as the target if your yard can give it.

About ten feet from cover — the rule that sounds contradictory

Beginners get told two opposite things: put the feeder near cover so birds can escape hawks, and keep it away from cover so squirrels cannot jump across. Project FeederWatch resolves it in one line: place feeders close to natural cover, be careful not to place them too close to strong branches, and “a distance of about 10 feet seems to be a good compromise.”

Ten feet is close enough that a startled bird reaches a shrub in one flight, and far enough that a squirrel has to work for it.

Windows: under three feet, or over thirty

This is a safety rule and it is not optional. The American Bird Conservancy states that more than a billion birds die from collisions with glass every year in the United States.

The mechanism is speed. A feeder mounted right against the glass means a startled bird cannot build up enough speed for the impact to be fatal. A feeder more than thirty feet away means the reflected sky is not part of its escape route. In between is the dangerous zone — enough runway to hit hard. More on this, including what to do about the window itself, in keeping birds safe.

Where you can actually watch it from

The last distance nobody mentions. A feeder placed perfectly at the bottom of the garden where you never see it will not get refilled, cleaned or enjoyed. Put it where you already look — the kitchen window, the desk, the spot you drink coffee — and every other habit follows.

Hanging without a tree, on a fence, or up high

Most yards do not offer a perfect spot. Poles, brackets, deck rails and window mounts all have their own rules, and they are covered separately in hanging a feeder without a tree and balcony and small-space feeding.

The quick site survey

1. Stand at the window you will watch from and pick a candidate spot.
2. Look up. Any branch within about nine feet above it? Move.
3. Look around. Fence, shed roof, wall, garden chair, washing line within seven to ten feet? Move, or accept that squirrels will reach it.
4. Check the window distance — under three feet or over thirty.
5. Check you can reach it to refill without a ladder.

If a spot fails one test, the window rule is the one to keep. If it fails the squirrel tests, read how to stop squirrels before you decide the yard is hopeless.