Backyard Birding Forum

get the ones with the straight perches.

sparrows are able to use the ones with T-shaped or loop perches, but not the straight ones.  maybe they can't turn their head to the side to feed.

GOOD

BAD

the socks and mesh-type ones are cool in that you are not restricted by the number of perches, and it's cool to see the birds hang upside-down, but their "open" design means trouble during wet weather.

Gil:

get the ones with the straight perches.

sparrows are able to use the ones with T-shaped or loop perches, but not the straight ones.  maybe they can't turn their head to the side to feed.

nevermind what i said about straight vs loop or T perches.

mine has been invaded by sparrows for the last 2 months. :mad:

I have noticed more sparrows on the feeders than normal in the past few weeks also.

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Ryan

sparrows are almost all i'm getting now.  :(

I've read that if you have your perches upsidedown the finches can feed and the sparrows can not, because they cannot eat upsidedown.  I've not done it, because I don't mind the sparrows so much.  Similarly with the caged woodpecker suet, if you place it up under a roof, the gackles cannot feed.  That I am going to do in the neer future, because I hate the gackles and starlings.

I had grackles at my old apartment, but not here. The onlt things on the woodpecker suet are the woodpeckers and a white breasted nut-hatch

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Ryan

I have an upside down feeder and you're right - the only thing that feeds on it are goldfinches. I haven't seen any other bird even attempt to feed from it.

true.  but by having an upside-down only feeder, i also turn away the house finches.

Hmm - didn't realize they could get that big beak of theirs in those little thistle slits on a nyger feeder. No matter - the house finches devastate my sunflower seeds as it is!