New Fly-Thru Bird Feeder - January 2023

In my recently-posted recap/scorecard of what I wanted to do in the yard this past year, I marked the item about getting back into wildlife feeding as a 'miss'.   The reality is that I really ONLY feed the birds and critters during the cold months.  That's something like November to March...usually.   A few years back, the kids and I applied to be a Certified Wildlife Habitat and part of that process is to ensure that your yard is providing - among other things - food.  

During COVID, I was home everyday.  And so were kids.  That meant that we had the opportunity to feed the birds and squirrels every morning.  I fed the birds and the kids put cracked corn and various seeds on the perimeter of the fence for the critters to fuel up.

I was able to feed the birds everyday because we had this really lovely clear, plastic fly-thru feeder that I bought back in 2018.  That was a real breakthrough moment for me with birds.  Up until then, I had only used feeders that were closed containers featuring small openings for the seeds to drop down/out-of.  Typically, they're trying to be squirrel proof and have springs that prevent heavier critters from accessing the seeds.  But, that original fly-thru feeder was different.  It was an open platform.  Birds landed *in* the food.  And ate right there.  It was open on all sides and I learned that platform feeders both bring in more birds, but also provides for a different birding/bird-watching experience from the house.  And, it was also INCREDIBLY easy to fill.  Just dump a cup in.  No taking the feeder down, taking the top off, filling it, closing it, rehanging it.  Just leave it up and add seeds.

I was - to anyone who asked - a platform/fly-thru feeder evangelist.  

But then...my fly-thru feeder blew off our feeder pole and cracked in three pieces.  That was December of 2021.   I can say that the breaking of this feeder started the decline of our feeding.  I kept filling the suet cages and our small squirrel-buster, but we weren't getting the variety of birds any longer, so I lost a little bit of interest.

I've been looking for a fly-thru ever since, but didn't pull the trigger.  

But, the kids came through this Christmas with a brand-new, clear-topped fly-thru feeder.  See below for the latest addition to our backyard birding setup.  And...what I hope will be the stimulus to get back to regularly filling the feeding station.

Seems like I'll be adding a bird-feeding item to my 2023 to-do list as a way to nudge me back into it if I fall out of the habit this Fall.