Hanging a New Birdfeeder? Know the Rule of Twos

A common question we get in our Wild Birds Unlimited store is "how long will it take for the birds to find my feeder?"  We share the "Rule of 2s":

It might take 2 seconds,
2 minutes,
2 hours,
2 days,
2 weeks,
maybe even 2 months
for birds to start using your feeder.

I put out this new feeder today at 10:54am.  At 11:09am, I had my first visitor - a Black-capped Chickadee.  Chickadees are often the first bird to find a new feeder, and this guy came through just 15 minutes after the feeder was hung!

To improve you chances that birds will find your feeder sooner rather than later, follow these five tips:

1. Place feeders in a safe place, not right above places where ground predators like cats might hide.
2. Place feeders within 15 feet or so of a place that birds can quickly fly to to escape flying predators like hawks.
3. Spread a little seed on the ground beneath the feeder.  Birds find food by sight, so spreading some food might aid birds in finding your feeders.
4. Use quality food.  A new feeder filled with junk seed (full of stuff they don't eat or filled with old, stale, dry seed) will not attract birds.  With birds, it's all about energy in and energy out.  Low quality seed that requires more energy to find and eat is just not worth the birds' efforts.
5. If it's a new type of feeder for your birds, hang it in a spot where you've had a feeder before.  Birds aren't too dissimilar from us: sometimes it takes awhile to get used to new things.

BE PATIENT and hopefully that patience with the birds will payoff with many hours of birdfeeding enjoyment!

This birdfeeder was made in Ohio from felled wood.  It is now available for purchase at Wild Birds Unlimited - Saratoga Springs NY.  More about the feeder in a future blog post!

Thanks to Bob Shanman of the Torrance CA Wild Birds Unlimited store from whom we picked up the "Rule of 2s".

Comments

[Patricia Ely]

A couple birds using their beaks tossed food to the ground and within an hour I had 20 to 30 birds eating from the feeder and seed on the ground.

[The Zen Birdfeeder]

Scott, you have a great chance to attract goldfinches at a second story level. I too hung 2 finch feeders off a 2nd floor balcony rail. The goldfinches seem to like this special spot just for them!
Good luck and keep us posted.

[Scott]

My mom is 92 years old and asked me to hang a Finch feeder outside on a balcony deck of her 2nd story apartment building probably 17 -18 ft above the ground. What chances do you give that the finches will find it. We see lots of finches in this neighborhood.
Thank you.
Scott

[The Zen Birdfeeder]

Hi Renee - we're excited about that new feeder and so are our little birds.
Did you use your bird guide to identify that bird you saw?
A new finch feeder and fresh niger seed will be on its way to Iowa soon from your connections in NY.

[Renee]

That bird feeder is fun!

A couple of days ago I saw the first birds in my backyard and yesterday a little guy came to my thistle feeder for a quick visit.

This afternoon you could hear birds chirping everywhere, enjoying the 45 degree temperatures in Iowa.

[The Zen Birdfeeder]

John - thanks much. Not sure if Laura carries this feeder in S.Portland. Chickadees...old faithful!
BIF - thanks, I really love the way it looks!

[Birding is Fun!]

What a beautiful feeder!

[MaineBirder]

Great post Nancy! I love the hollowed out log type feeder. I'm guessing it's a WBU product. Will have to check it out. Chickadees & Red-breasted Nuthatches are usually the first visitors to our new feeders.

John