As a bird watcher, it is tough to describe the feeling when you see those birds in your backyard enjoying all the things you provide for them. Once the birds are in your feeder, they will enjoy the food while preening or perching around the structure. And these actions can bring a lot of satisfaction to you as a birder but can also spill birdseed on the ground, which can get a lot of mess if not taking care of.
But how to keep bird seed from falling on the ground? If left unattended, birdseed falling in the ground can germinate and sprout into unwanted weeds where it can attract pests such as rodents and make the ground look dirty and messy. But this situation can be prevented if you know different ways to eliminate the chances of the birdseed falling on the ground. This article lets you know how to do that with ease.
Contents
Prevent Birdseeds from Falling on the Ground
There are things that you can do to eliminate spilling the seeds to the ground. These methods are simple but effective to prevent the seeds from falling and avoid making the ground messy and dirty.
Installing a Birdseed Catcher
One way to prevent bird seeds from falling to the ground is to install a seed catcher below the feeder. The seed catcher will come in many forms, but its only purpose is to catch all bird seeds falling from the feeder. Some birdwatchers use a tray that will be put underneath the feeder and will catch every falling seed during the bird’s visits. These seed catchers can be a simple tray or some commercial products which are available in most bird shops.
These seed catchers can be purchase commercially, but you can also bring your creativity and artistry and make your own seed catcher. You can use funnels that are large enough to be installed below the feeder and should catch the seeds when it falls to the ground. Whatever you do, the most important thing is to prevent the mess by catching all the seeds and prevent them from going to the ground.
Choosing a Stable Bird Feeder
The primary cause of the seeds falling to the ground from the bird feeder is its instability. Once the birds start eating in a hanging feeder, it can produce movements that can cause the feeder to swing, which can make the seeds spill over towards the ground. The instability of the feeder and the continued movement of the bird can make the spillage happen. But, this can be prevented if you have a stable feeder.
One option is to have a bird feeder that is fixed to a pole or perch. This type of feeder is better than those birdfeeders that swing on chains. As I mentioned earlier, the swinging feeders can spill the seeds with the bird’s movement and constant activity. Another reason for the feeder to swing is if the wind is too strong, making the feeder move and swing, causing the seeds to fall on the ground.
Controlling the Bird Seeds You Will Give
One of the most practical ways to avoid spillage of seeds to the ground is to limit the number of seeds you put on the bird feeders. When you constantly make the feeder full of seeds, small movements that can swing the feeder will spill the seeds on top of the feeder. Since it is full, it will be very easy for the seeds to fall off because of the movements especially when the feeder swings non-stop.
You will only need a small amount of food to the feeder each day, and it does not need to be full. Another benefit of doing this step is it will give the birds to eat every seed available while giving you the chance to replenish everything with new and fresh seeds once the seeds in the feeder are all consumed. Rather than loading the feeder up to the top, pouring a small amount daily will mean fewer foods falling to the ground.
Use High-Quality Birdseeds Mixture
Another way that the seeds fall to the ground is when the bird dislikes it and eventually throws it to the ground. There are many different types of seeds that you can give to the birds, but not all of them will be good for the birds. When they start eating, they throw some seeds because they do not like them, which means the throwing will make the seeds fall on the ground.
The solution to this issue is to use good-quality birdseed mix to feed the birds. Usually, there are cheap blends that contain different seed varieties, which the birds will decline. Some of these bird seeds are oats and red millet. Unfortunately, the birds are intelligent enough to select the foods that they like. In fact, there was a research that says that the visiting birds in your backyard will throw or toss out undesirable seeds to the ground as they continue to search for foods that they like.
Conclusion
Learning how to keep bird seed from the ground is excellent knowledge to have as a birder. It is usual for the birds to throw away undesirable seeds when they eat in the feeder, which means that the seeds can go to the ground when they toss them outside the feeder. The constant movement of the bird and the strong winds can also spill the seeds on the feeder, causing it to fall on the ground.
But there are some ways that you can do to prevent or reduce the seeds from falling on the ground. The seed catcher is a popular method where you can just put a device below the feeder to catch the seeds that are falling. You can also avoid hanging feeders while using the one which is installed in a stable post to prevent constant movements and swinging. You can also minimize the quantity of the seeds in the feeder to avoid spillage in the future while also giving only high-quality seeds that the bird will eat and not throw.