Sitemap
Every page on this site
A plain, complete list. Nothing here is more than two clicks from the homepage.
This is the human-readable sitemap. There is also an XML sitemap for search engines and an Atom feed if you want new pages as they publish.
Setting up your first bird feeder
The beginner's first hour: what to buy, where to hang it, how high, how far from the glass, and how long to wait.
Bird feeder types, and which one you actually need
Tube, hopper, platform, suet, finch, window and peanut feeders compared — what each holds, who eats there, and what it costs you in squirrels.
- Tube feeders: the default first feeder
- Hopper feeders: capacity, roof and a perch to stand on
- Platform feeders, and the cardinals you have been missing
- Suet feeders: cages, tail-props and upside-down
- Finch feeders, and the nyjer they need
- Window feeders: birds at arm's length
- Peanut feeders
- Mealworm feeders and the birds that ignore seed
- Caged feeders: exclusion by size
- Feeders with seed catcher trays
- The best bird feeders, one per type
- Which bird feeder attracts the most birds?
- Bird feeder materials, and which parts must be metal
- DIY bird feeders vs buying one
Bird seed, explained by what is actually in the bag
What to put in the feeder: sunflower, safflower, nyjer, suet and mealworms, plus the filler seeds that end up on the ground.
- The best bird seed for wild birds
- Bird seed types, and who actually eats them
- No-mess bird seed, compared honestly
- The best seed for each bird you want
- Safflower and squirrels: the honest version
- Suet and suet cakes
- Nyjer seed, and why your finch feeder is being ignored
- How to store bird seed
- What it actually costs to feed birds
Squirrels: what works, what does not, and what nobody admits
The site's signature argument: nothing is squirrel-proof, placement beats mechanism, and here are the published numbers behind both claims.
- The best squirrel-resistant bird feeders
- Are any bird feeders really squirrel-proof?
- How to keep squirrels off your bird feeders
- The best bird feeder baffles
- The best bird feeder poles
- Weight-activated vs caged bird feeders
- Cheap squirrel-resistant setups that actually work
- Squirrel-proofing a feeder hanging from a tree
Keeping a feeder going through the year
Cleaning schedules, the fall and winter calendar, what to do when birds stop showing up, and keeping rodents out of the seed.