I love birdhouses, but sometimes they are just too far away from your window to see the birds as clearly as you might like. And sometimes when a larger bird feeder is set up farther away from your house, you get lots of different birds fighting over the birdseed. This certainly takes away from the enjoyment of watching the birds!
But with a window bird feeder you solve all of those problems instantly. For one thing, the birdfeeder is connected to your window which brings the birds right in front of your face. For another thing, window birdfeeders are smaller generally speaking, and so there isn’t physically enough room for many birds to get in there. So you have less of that fighting and flocking involved which leads to much greater enjoyment for both you and the birds!
They are also much easier to maintain than a traditional birdfeeder because you don’t have to trudge out into the backyard every so often to refill them. You can just reach out though the window and drop some more birdseed in. They’re also much easier to clean and maintain for the exact same reason.
What types are available? Generally speaking, there are two main types of window feeders. The first main type are those that are attached to a window, many times via a suction cup or hook apparatus of some sort. Sometimes they are attached with Velcro as well. These are usually smaller in size fom that reason. The second main type are those that are placed inside a windowsill. Windowsill feeders are often attached to the window like an air-conditioning unit with the window itself securing the top of the feeder, and then the feeder walls sort of extending to the edge of the windowsill on either side with an adjustable flap of some sort.
What Size is Right For You? The size of your feeder will depend on several different things. For one thing the size of the window will be a major consideration as a smaller window will require a smaller feeder in most cases. The next thing to consider is the number of birds that you’re interested in housing. The more birds you want, the bigger the birdfeeder needs to be.
Realize that most birdfeeders that are attached to the outside of the window will need to be smaller simply because the suction cup or Velcro used to attach them will only hold a certain amount of weight. If you want larger birdfeeders you’ll almost certainly have to go with a windowsill option that is more securely fastened to the window sill.
Which Birds Prefer Window Feeders? generally speaking, almost all birds will enjoy your window unit just fine. Basically, if a bird used your normal birdfeeder, it will use your window birdfeeder too. Of course, the larger the bird, the less likely they will be to use your birdfeeder simply because the feeder itself will generally be smaller than a regular one.
Another Great Benefit is… squirrels usually have a harder time getting to window birdfeeders. Of course, this will depend on your house structure more than anything as well as the window structure and the windowsill itself. If you have low hanging branches that are near your window, pests still might be able to get in to your feeder… but barring that, the chances are very good that the window unit keep them away.
Check out my site for special deals on the right window birdfeeder for you, or browse around the rest of the site for more information such as reviews and things like that. And be sure to check back often as we are always updating things!