Good, inexpensive bird feeder that attaches to deck railing?

[ourbabygirl]

Any recommendations? Now that it's finally SPRING TIME :heartbeat:, I'd like to be able to feed the birds with something classier (and more accessible for them) than a cut-apart plastic milk jug! :ROTFLMAO:

Thanks!

[DrSally]

Are you sure you want bird poop all over your deck?

[ourbabygirl]

Yeah, I don't mind. ;) It'd be fun to have DD watch the birds come to our feeder.

[ewpmsw]

We're still doing trial-and-error runs on our bird feeders b/c of squirrels, so I can't recommend a specific brand. I don't believe there is a truly squirrel proof feeder on the market under $134 (price of the Yankee Flipper.) Glass and metal hold up better than plastic, which our squirrels chewed through immediately. Feeders that keep out moisture are worth the investment as well. If squirrels are an issue, you might want to consider hanging your feeder under a baffle to prevent them getting to it.

I've BTDT with an over-the-deck feeder and don't recommend it. The poop builds up fast, is tough to remove and is bad for your deck. Also, the seed gets everywhere. How about a feeder that attaches to an arm that hangs away from the deck? I've seen the hangers/arms at Lowes and other hardware stores. Some can be secured to the deck without screwing them into the wood. To prevent seed and shells from getting everywhere, I use feed that is "no mess" or "no waste", which really means no sunflower shells, just the seeds. It's made a huge difference in how much is left below our feeders every day.

Sorry, this is way more than OP asked for. I got a little overexcited b/c I never get to talk bird feeders. :rolleyes:

[ourbabygirl]

No, that's great! Thanks for your thorough response!
I guess what I mean is that I want to be able to have the birds visible & eating up from the deck height, as we live in basically farmland and don't have any mature trees to hang a feeder from. So it can hang off the deck or whatever, but it would be nice to be able to somehow see the birds come to it. We also don't have any squirrels to worry about because there are so few trees in our yard and neighborhood. At our old house, squirrels were a major pain and kept stealing the birdseed from our tree feeders.
I may go to a bird (feeder) store to see what they say. Thanks for the recommendation on no sunflower seeds; that makes sense! It's not like we get any exotic birds here- just robins and some little sparrows or something- but it's still fun to watch.