Why Won’t Birds Come to My Feeder?: 5 Common Mistakes You May Be Making

Did you recently set out a bird feeder in your yard? Are you having trouble attracting birds to it?

Not only are bird feeders beautiful, but they help adult birds spend less energy foraging for food for their nestlings. Plus, attracting more birds to your yard also helps with insect control, weed control, and flower pollination.

But, in order to reap all of these benefits, you need to make sure you have your feeder set up right so it actually attracts birds. If you’re asking yourself, “Why won’t birds come to my feeder”, then read on to learn what the problem is.

Predators

Birds don’t want to share space with creatures that could potentially harm them. If you live in a community where a lot of cats are present, you may have a hard time getting birds to come to your feeder.

If you can, consider relocating your feeder from the front yard to the backyard. Hopefully, you have a fence up to prevent neighborhood cats from wandering into your backyard and scaring off the birds.

Family Pets

Just because you don’t view your family pets as predators, doesn’t mean birds don’t.

Even just a pet rabbit or a dog dozing in the sun could be enough to scare the birds away. Obviously, you don’t want to get rid of your pets or prevent them from spending time outdoors. Typically, the best thing to do is to move the bird feeder further up and deeper into your backyard where the birds will feel safer.

The Feeder Isn’t Clean

If you think birds aren’t picky about the cleanliness of their food, think again. If you don’t clean your bird feeder on a regular basis, it’ll become clogged, spoiled, and wet.

This can lead to diseases that can spread to an entire flock of birds. Aim to clean your feeder every two weeks. You may need to clean it even more often when it’s being heavily used or you’re experiencing wet weather.

Using Only One Kind of Feeder

If you’re only using one kind of feeder, you’re also going to have trouble attracting birds.

Different bird species have different diet preferences and even prefer different feeder styles. To attract as many birds as possible, invest in several feeders that contain a variety of food. If you’re looking to buy some new feeders, be sure to check out Nature Niche.

Forgetting About Natural Food Sources

While birds certainly appreciate the seeds you leave out for them, don’t forget that a lot of birds prefer natural food sources. After all, that’s what they’ve been relying on for millions of years to stay alive.

If you’re having trouble attracting birds to your feeder, it may just be that there’s an abundance of natural food sources in the area. There’s really nothing you can do about this except wait it out.

Why Won’t Birds Come to My Feeder?: Time to Act

Now that we’ve answered the question, “Why won’t birds come to my feeder”, it’s time for you to diagnose the problem. By fixing the above issues, you should have birds flocking to your feeder in no time.

Be sure to check back in with our blog for more bird care tips and tricks.