Experts Warn Your Bird Feeder Could Be in the Wrong Spot Without You Even Realizing It
Predators are part of nature. Many of them kill birds for food. But what if the onus of their killing falls upon the shoulders of humans who are feeding these innocent birds? In 2008, a person, going by the moniker Blue Bird Lover on Bird Forum, shared a dilemma that struck their mind when they shifted to Iowa, a hawk haven. They punctuated their yard with several bird feeders and feeding trays attached under spruce and pine trees. Every day, goldfinches, juncos, and Mourning Doves visited their feeders and munched on Niger seed and cracked corn. But within just a few days, the bird-keeper realized that a party of notorious hawks was terrorizing these birds.
On many days, while the birds would be eating their food, a hawk would materialize out of the sky and swoop in, often dive bombing from their roof to pick on a bird, clutch it in their beaks, and fly away with the bounty. The more food they put out, the more birds would arrive, and the more birds arrived, the greater the risk of a hawk killing them. This is not something unfamiliar. Nearly every bird-keeper goes through this situation in their life. The solution, Wild Birds Unlimited Nature Shop suggests, is to think twice before choosing a positioning for the bird feeder.
The spot one selects for positioning the feeder should be one where birds are safe and where they can have their own “personal space away from humans.” Distance is another important factor. How distant is the feeder from trees, windows, and the dense cover of shrubs? An ideal spot is one where the bird is well sheltered against predators and also where the bird-watcher can gaze at it as it flutters its colorful plumage and nibbles on snacks. “Ideally, feeders should be within 3 feet of structures or further than 10 feet from structures for the safety of the birds. Avoid placing feeders between 3 and 10 feet of structures,” the shop instructs. Another tip is to encase the feeder with a glass dome, so birds can rest and enjoy while perched on it during harsh weather conditions like rain and snow.
“Raising the height of the feeder; increase the size of the plate at the bottom of the feeders to limit how much seed falls to the ground so less birds foraging on the ground; have feeders out in the open so ambush areas are limited more,” a person (u/-43andharsh) adviced in a comment on a Reddit post. The post was shared by one Reddit user who complained that a predatory cat prowling around their neighbourhood often sneaked into their garden and pounced upon the birds resting on the feeders. People chimed in with all sorts of tips, from using “spray bottles and sprinklers” to ward off the cat to “sprinkling cayenne peppers” and “cutting down the bushes so there’s no other hiding places near the feeder.”
AllAboutBirds.com has yet another tip for selecting the best position for the bird feeder. According to them, one factor to consider is the feeder’s positioning relative to the location of the dense shrubbery. Place them too close, and it provides an excellent opportunity to bird-hungry cats and seed-hungry squirrels. They can use branches to jump and reach the feeder. On the flip side, a good place to install a bird feeder is always one that is close to nature’s cover, where birds can spend some restful moments and where predators like hawks won’t be able to disrupt their rest.