Caged Bird Feeders
Squirrels are often a problem for your bird feeders. While
they are a desirable visitor to many yards, it's seldom that
we want them hanging around the bird feeder. They steal the
food and scare off the birds we want. A squirrel baffle may
not work for you if you aren't able to mount the feeder when
the squirrels can't leap directly to it. You may have decided
you want a
squirrel proof
feeder, but aren't really sure which type to use.
A caged bird feeder can be a great choice to help defeat
those persistent squirrels. By using a simple cage around the
feeder itself, the squirrels are repelled at the feeder, so
the mounting of the feeder is not as critical.
Caged Tube Feeder - These tend to look like
traditional
tube bird feeders, but come
with a cage that has meshing large enough that small
birds can enter through it and land on the perches of
the feeder. These can also be effective for limiting
large birds from dominating a feeder as well as keeping
squirrels out of the feeder. Duncraft, Woodlink, and
Droll Yankees make a number of caged tube feeders. You
can also find
nyjer tube feeders with cages
as well, for the finch lovers.
Sanctuary Caged Feeders - These feeders are
are similar in that there is a cage around a feeder,
typically a tube feeder. But these are designed to have the
cage be more decorative, often using a diagonal criss cross
look instead of the rectangular chicken wire style of most
feeders. Some of them have a rounded top, resulting in an
almost spherical look. In addition to simple seed feeders,
there are nut feeders too. And the cages are finished with
either a white or a hunter green color, topping off the
decorative look.