The problem in my garden is that there are so. many. squirrels. And yet, I’d like to have a bird feeder among the flowers, herbs, and vegetables. If I am going to put temptation out there, I need a squirrel proof bird feeder.
We usually hang a feeder on the front porch and the birds come from all around the forest and valley to get seeds during winter. Squirrels aren’t a problem on the porch because Rob put an electrified grid on the posts to keep them and the raccoons away. When food becomes more readily available from the land, we take it down and replace that one with hummingbird feeders.
A Squirrel-Proof Bird Feeder
Kingsyard sent me this squirrel proof bird feeder to try out. I promised to do a review of it.
This is not a flimsy feeder. It’s metal and plastic, very well-built. Shipping was prompt and the box arrived with no damage to the box nor the feeder. Very simple to fill. Just pull the knob on the top/lid up along the cable to lift the cap. Fill with seeds, and push the cap back down. I’m sure it will work great once my birds get over the fear of ‘something new’ in the garden.
The mechanism to thwart squirrels is a sliding cage that lowers to cover the seed dispensers. If a squirrel climbs onto the feeder, his weight will cause the cage to descend. This should work great.
But now the question is …
How Long Will it Take the Birds to Find the Feeder?
Once the birds find it, I’m sure the squirrels will, too. Or maybe the squirrels will be the first to find it. But it’s been two days in my garden, and not one bird or squirrel has visited yet 🙁 This is not any fault of the feeder. It’s because our birds have gotten used to the feeder we ordinarily use, and they’re very wild birds – not urban or city birds accustomed to changing landscape features.
I brought it to the front porch thinking those birds would be a little more accepting of change. None will come near it yet. I’m going to put it back into my garden and let the birds back there get used to it. Then I’ll come update this post periodically with photos of all the varieties of species that visit.
Birds of Wild Ozark
Offhand, here’s a list of those I can think of that are here in summer (and eat seeds. We have some that are insect-catchers who don’t visit the feeders.):
- chickadee
- American goldfinch
- indigo bunting
- cardinals
- cowbirds
- titmouse
- nuthatch
- … I know there are others. As I think of them or finally see some at the feeder, I’ll update the list
Are you Looking for a Bird Feeder?
You can find this company at Kingsyard.com. The feeder I have is here: https://www.kingsyard.com/kingsyard-squirrel-proof-hanging-metal-tube-bird-feeder-kybf294cp.html
You can also find bird baths, bird houses, and accessories.
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Author/Artist Info
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In the summer of 2018 I began making watercolor paints from the rocks, clay, and other resources of our land here in the Ozarks. In 2023 I began experimenting with the same pigments in oils. I love this medium and now paint in oils almost always. I call them Wild Ozark Paleo Paints, because they’re made in a way very close to the same way paints were made when man first put a hand-print on the wall of a cave. I use very small amounts of outsourced pigment for blue, white, and sometimes yellow to offer a greater range of hues built upon the earthy local pigments. My specialty is painting nature, specifically the nature that surrounds me here in the remote hills of northwest Arkansas.
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Madison Woods
@wildozark (Instagram, Twitter, Threads and FB)
madison@madisonwoods
