When that winter chill hits you such that all you want to do is sit at the kitchen table with a cup of hot cocoa and watch the birds, it’s time to put out the feeders. Bee Better readers typically plant for the birds, but when you want to attract the birds to a nice location to see from inside the home, fill your feeders and feed the birds!

Here are some common types of bird feeders and their use:

PLATFORM  FEEDERS

Platform models can be as fancy as a covered feeder with a gravity feed tube, or as simple as a dish laid out for the birds to dine. Typical feed for this type of feeder is black-oiled sunflower seeds. Think of the platform feeder as a place where birds can arrive at an open feed station, sometimes protected, other times not.

Favored by black-capped chickadees, cardinals, mourning doves, finches, juncos, jays, woodpeckers, and sparrows.

TUBE FEEDERS

Tube feeders have multiple small purchases for little birds. Most often used for black nyjer seed. Think of these tubes as a community buffet for small birds.

HOPPER FEEDERS

A hinged roof shields seeds from moisture. Hang from a branch or mount on a post with a squirrel baffle. Typically filled with safflower or a safflower seed mixed with nuts. Thinker of hopper feeders as protected gravity feed platform feeders.