Bird watching or birding is a recreational activity that involves observing birds. It’s a soothing activity that allows you to kick back in your chair with your favorite bottle of wine and relax.
Birds are adapted for flight. They go anywhere where they can find food. If you have ever sat at your window, you might have watched them approach your it and perch on the windowsill. If you love watching the birds look around and scour the ground for food, there’s a way to attract more of them through bird feeders.
Quick Answer
If you are trying to attract birds to your window feeder, you need to eliminate any nearby food source. Since most birds are attracted to flowers, you can decorate the feeder to make it more appealing. However, three things ensure birds will come to your window feeder – the feeder’s size, its location that should be outside a bedroom’s window where there is less traffic, and the type of seeds you choose.
Now that you know the secrets to attracting birds to your window feeder, let’s take a look at the ideas in detail and answer a couple of questions on this topic:
Tips on Attracting Birds to Your Window Feeder
We know the “where.” Now, we need to figure out the “how.” The right location influences the birds to come to your feeder repeatedly. The first thing you need to do is select a window that’s at a height, has low traffic, and gives you a prime view when you are sitting in the room.
When choosing a window based on activity level, eliminate the living room and kitchen. The best rooms are your bedroom and office. Avoid hanging the feeder on the window above your deck or patio because you will always find yourself cleaning tossed seeds and bird droppings. It will take some time to attract the birds, but if you follow the tips given here, you will have dozens of them fluttering around your window in no time.
Remover Other Feeders
One of the most important things you need to do before installing the window feeder is remove the other feeders hanging in your backyard or on your porch. The moment the birds see another food source, they will fly towards it, which will probably be the feeder hanging from your tree.
The only way to attract birds to a window feeder is through food. So, make sure that you have food and water feeders side by side to eliminate other attractions.
Make the Feeder Bright So That It Is Easily Visible
The clear plastic will most likely blend in with the window glass. This will make it difficult for the birds to see where the window starts, and the reflection might cause them to crash into the glass and die upon impact. So, brighten up the feeder with flowers and paint. You can also mix different color seeds to make them visible from far away.
Focus on the Design of the Feeder
If you want to attract small birds, suction cup feeders are the best. These are the most common types of window feeders. They are made of clear plastic, which helps put the seeds on display. They are also extremely durable. For larger birds, a windowsill feeder or a tray feeder is the best. It can hold more seeds and attract a bigger crowd. Make sure to add a bath feeder nearby but keep it away from the seed feeder so that the food doesn’t get wet.
Ideally, the feeder should have three feed sides so that the birds are not restricted. Lastly, include a perch too so that the birds can eat, drink and dry themselves all in one area.
The Best Foods to Attract Birds
Depending on the birds you have flying in the vicinity, you will have to choose the food wisely, just like the feeder. Sunflower, thistle, cracked corn, and peanut are the most common seeds that all birds eat. Add a few live worms and mealworms if you want to turn heads. Following are the different types of foods that birds of different species prefer:
- Seed Mixes: Tits, finches, house sparrows, dunnocks, starlings, and robins.
- Niger Seed: Goldfinches.
- Mealworms: Robins.
- Suet Fat Balls: Starlings and the tit family, sparrows, robins, and blackbirds.
- Fruit: Blackbirds, robins, and song thrushes.
Things You Need to Know About Bird Feeders
Any activity inside and outside the house can deter the birds that want to visit your window feeder. Even the wildest birds will find difficulty eating because they will be constantly distracted. Bird watching is a quiet activity that allows you to soothe your chaotic mind. The birds don’t want to be disturbed when they eat and drink like you wouldn’t want to be disturbed during your free time.
You also need to consider some things, one of which that carries the most weight is privacy. Birds want to eat in peace, and an invasion of ants or rodents can be extremely annoying. You need to take extra measures to keep out the predators, so they don’t consume the food meant for someone else. Birds are highly intelligent. If their frequent trips turn up in empty feeders, they will stop coming to your window.
Here are a couple of questions that will provide you with answers on how to protect bird feeders:
Can a Squirrel Attack the Window Feeder?
Squirrels can jump only 5 ft. high, and they leap up to double the height. Hence, you need to ensure that the feeder is far away from tree branches that offer a direct path. Install a fake perch next to the feeder so that the birds can bathe and dry themselves near the food.
Will The Window Feeder Make the Birds Crash Into the Windows?
By installing a window feeder, you reduce the chances of birds crashing into your window and dying. The feeder’s distance of 15 ft. from the window usually kills birds. It allows them to build enough momentum that they cannot stop themselves. Hence, you should install the window feeder either directly on the window or just 3 ft. away.
How Best to Attach a Suction Window Feeder?
You might have often heard that applying a little water or spit will make the suction cup sit nice and secure. However, don’t forget that the feeder will give away when the moisture dries. Hence, you need to use a very tiny dab of oil instead. Don’t forget to burp the cups by pressing on the nub to remove any air.
Will the Window Feeder Attract Insects As Well?
Squirrels, mice, cockroaches, and other insects might try to enter the bird feeder. You can use an ant moat or ant guard to keep away ants. As for rodents, coat the seeds with hot pepper; this is an old practice people used to keep rodents away from their valuable stored seed. The smell and taste of hot pepper repel rodents but the birds quite like it.
How Long Will It Take for the Birds to Fly to the Window Feeder?
Who knows? 5 seconds, 5 minutes, 5 hours, 5 days… you know where we are going with this. You need to consider all the factors: The type of window feeder, the type of seeds, nearby predators, and more. You just need to be patient because it will take time, but the birds will fly to your window feeder.
Wrap-Up
Attracting birds to your window feeder is not an easy task. It requires a lot of planning and patience. You need to be careful with the type of feeder you choose and the food you offer.
If the food quality is not up to their standards, the crowd will start to thin. You need to lay down a buffet for frequent flyers that will have them hooked and coming back for more.