We are located in the USA and ship to the 48 contiguous states only. FedEx Ground is our standard delivery method.
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We are located in the USA and ship to the 48 contiguous states only. FedEx Ground is our standard delivery method. |
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  Feeding wild birds teaches children patience, hospitality, responsibility and the appreciation of wildlife. |
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Platform bird feeders come in many styles and are very versatile. They work as ground feeders, hanging feeders and pole feeders. You will attract a certain group of birds by having a ground platform feeder. Those birds may ONLY like using a ground platform bird feeder. If you mount platform feeders on poles or posts you can vary the height to your liking. The best results would come if you used a baffle on the actual pole or post. This would block the squirrels and some less desirable critters from reaching your platform feeders and stealing all the goodies before the wild birds get to dine. If you choose to hang your feeders, we would recommend using a baffle for the best results. If you choose to use ground platform feeders you might think about the materials that your feeders have been built with. Wood could rot, crack and fall apart if allowed to stay in contact with moisture from the ground for very long or during the wet season. We have a few solutions for this situation. The first solution is to purchase wood platform feeders with legs. Look down this page or follow these examples of ground platform bird feeders with legs: Alternatively, you could purchase feeders made from recycled plastics. These recycled product platform feeders will not degrade like the wood could if left on the ground. These feeders are eco-friendly because they are constructed from 90% recycled plastics such as milk jugs. These types of products are becoming more and more popular with the "Go Green" movement. Our recycled platform bird feeders are made in America and American products mean American jobs. Explore this page or follow these examples of platform bird feeders from recycled plastics: You don't have to put ground platform bird feeders on the ground! You could use them on a deck or porch. You could place them on quick drying rock, flagstone, a decomposed granite pathway or patio, etc. to avoid wet grass or wet mulch. A second option for ground platform feeders is to use a feeder with a roof. Protection from the rain and elements would help your feeders avoid damage and keep your seeds fresh much longer. It is important that platform feeders drain well. Perforated metal screens or mesh trays work much better than a few drain holes scattered across the platforms. Glance across this page or follow these examples of platform bird feeders with roof covers: One of our personal favorite properties of the adjustable dome covers is the ability to block out larger birds. These covers protect from the elements but they also allow you to avoid crows, giant flocks of doves, jays, etc. which can disrupt your songbirds from using your feeders. We offer several feeders with these adjustable domes which raise or lower on central metal rods. (See example of bird feeders with adjustable domes) Another way to squeeze out the competition is by using the stackable trays on poles. (See example of stackable platform trays) You can learn how far apart to place these trays to feed the sparrows, buntings, chickadees and even cardinals without feeding the doves. If you have ever be engulfed with doves you know what we mean. |
Platform Bird Feeders - Appeal to Most Wild Birds
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The hanging "dome and dish" bird feeders shown can be used to attract platform feeding birds anywhere you wish to hang them. Use them for seeds, mealworms, pellets or fruit. The first feeder attaches to any window. Choose the size bowl you want from the other two feeders. The protective domes can be raised or lowered to keep out rain and snow. Platform bird feeders are generally open to all birds but you can take into consideration the scale or size of some of the feeders to squeeze out larger birds. We have already mentioned the feeders with domes that can be raised or lowered but some of our feeders are scaled down in size to appeal to chickadees, titmice, sparrows, buntings, etc. so look for that feature if you wish to feed the smaller birds. The two horse stable feeders (blue roof) and the gazebo feeder next to them are scaled down. The window feeders are ideal for watching chickadees, buntings and cardinals. Doves have tried to use our window feeders but they can't maneuver well enough to land on anything but the roof. What can you feed birds by using a platform feeder? The sky is the limit. Here are a few ideas: black oil sunflower seeds, striped sunflower seeds, hulled sunflower seeds, safflower seeds, millet, peanuts (whole or in pieces), other nuts, cracked corn, suet, fruit such as apples and oranges, mealworms, crushed eggshells (during breeding season), and bluebird pellets. Speaking of bluebirds... Don't forget to think of platform bird feeders for mealworms. Use a platform tray deep enough for the mealworms. Pick the small to medium mealworms for bluebird food. Establish a routine early in the morning. Feed those bluebirds as early as possible. As winter approaches we look forward to the seasonal change of resident bird species. We build brush piles with the year's fallen and cut branches. We prepare extra platform feeders for our seasonal sparrows, towhees, juncos and a few other millet and sunflower seed loving birds. We have the largest number of birds using platform feeders in the winter. Be sure to place your platform feeders in view of your windows. Whether it is winter and nothing much is stirring in the yard except for bustling birds or whether it is summer and colorful buntings are playing bumper cars on your feeders, your heart will warm and a feeling of peace will creep over you as you observe nature at its most innocent. Flying squirrels may be using your platform bird feeders at night. They will eat sunflower seeds and suet. We wish it was easy to watch for these gliding wonders. In the meanwhile, we will imagine our flying friends dining at our feeders. There are many ways that you may observe nature in your busy life but there are not many ways as easy as maintaining bird feeders. Children enjoy knowing that they are feeding wild creatures. Birds will be faithful visitors if you offer fresh seeds in a clean feeder. Feeding wild birds teaches patience, hospitality, responsibility and the appreciation of wildlife. Not a bad set of qualities to nurture in young ones. We like hanging feeders which use metal chains or metal cables. Squirrels can not chew through them like they could chew through rope. One more point of importance when using platform bird feeders. Since the very nature of a platform feeder is to be open and exposed, it is a good idea to place a platform feeder near some vegetation -- not tucked in to it where a feral cat could hide but close enough for birds to make a quick flight into the protective cover of shrubs or trees. Hawks WILL scout bird feeders for a quick meal. This is a harsh but inevitable truth. We just don't like to make it so easy for them. |
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Some of our platform bird feeders come as combination products. They have both a bird feeder and an attached baffle. The prices reflect the fact that you are getting two products in one. Platform feeders are what squirrels dream about. You may be lucky enough not to have a squirrel problem. Many of us have squirrels on a daily basis and they can clear off a platform feeder in no time. Attached baffles over a hanging platform feeder or pole mounted baffles under the feeder can eliminate this issue. You can always set up a special feeding station for your squirrels if you choose but you don't have to let them rob your bird feeders. Sunflower seeds are highly praised but we wish to say a few words about millet. When we first began to use platform feeders in our backyard we were afraid to use millet because we thought it would attract house sparrows only. We began to offer it one summer and found that Painted Buntings became regular feeders. That winter we began to see species of true sparrows that we had never attracted before. For instance, white-throated sparrows, song sparrows, chipping sparrows, field sparrows and juncos. This variety of birds was a delightful surprise and we were never bothered by house sparrows. Once we moved out into the country, house sparrows found us. We thought it would be the other way around. House sparrows in the city and not in the country. Live and learn. We've have learned to use smaller window bird feeders if the population of house sparrows begins to get carried away. The window feeders at our computer stations can be monitored. Any house sparrows get shooed away while the Painted Buntings visit several times an hour. For the large ground platform bird feeders, we chose a cleared location in view of our largest windows on the back side of our property. The cleared ground would allow for the birds to easily find any spilled seeds. We even allowed a few plants to spring up from the previous season's millet bird seeds. The birds were so happy it made us laugh to watch them. Eventually we let a whole area grow the millet plants. All spring and summer the Painted Buntings feed from the plants and the platform feeders. Indigo buntings and all the sparrows join in as the season progresses. This patch of millet plants is the busiest bird feeding place on our property. And don't think that cardinals will ignore the millet seeds. We have so many cardinals here (forget about one pair per breeding territory) that we almost forget to check any red birds with binoculars. Male summer tanagers aren't regular visitors to our property so they really get a shout out from the crew when they arrive. Cardinals will eat millet from these platform feeders. Once we noticed this, we placed two identical feeders side by side with one filled with sunflower seeds and the other filled with millet. The cardinals were eating the millet. We don't know if it was seasonal, a comment on the freshness of our sunflower seeds at the time, or just a temporary preference. After buying fresh sunflower seeds, the cardinals continued to eat from the millet feeders. All right reserved. BIRDS-N-GARDEN.COM -- Selling wild bird feeders online since 2002 - Austin, TX. |
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These feeders attract many birds that do not like other styles of feeders. Cardinals, sparrows, tufted titmice, juncos, doves, painted buntings, chickadees and many other birds use our platform bird feeders. Northern Cardinals, in particular, like to see what is happening around them. They also like to stand on a flat tray rather than cling to a perch.
