THERAIN95
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Installing this feeder in an area where there has not previously been a feeder may result in a long delay until birds find it. On one of mine it took three weeks for the first bird to arrive. Once there is one bird on it, however, others will quickly notice the food source and will arrive more often. If you are having a hard time getting birds to locate your feeder, leaving scattered piles of the same bird-feed on the ground in the area can attract birds who are used to looking for seed on the ground, and when the original pile is exhausted, they will look for similar seed in the vicinity and find the feeder.
From a design stand-point, this feeder is top-notch. The construction is great, and the plastic is very thick (1/8" plexiglass) and sturdy. Overall it weighs about a pound. It will withstand Oregon rain (the all year round kind) and the seed is able to drain well since the removable try and feeder box both have drain holes that work well. The suction cups are large and adequate, though mine were a little misshapen from being squished in a bag during shipping. You can just let them sit in warm/hot water for a few minutes to revert to their natural shape. Dry them well, and then (I know this sounds weird) rub the suction cup on your nose. The oils from your nose will help plug any minuscule cracks and prevent air loss that would make the suction cup fail. Stick the cup onto a clean window, and it'll stay up for years. (Though you are taking your feeder down for regular cleanings, aren't you?)
With no rain, you can safely leave the feeder out without cleanings for a month or two. With rain, depending on your type of seed, mold can form in the feeder. You'll see when this happens, and you can remove the feeding tray, and throw it in the dishwasher. (I think the bleaching instructions are overkill. Your dishwasher will kill anything growing on the feeder.) Depending on your window, you may even be able to remove the feeder from inside, as long as you don't have a window screen in place. (If you try this, attach the feeder to the window that DOESN'T slide.) I can slide up my window, lean out a bit, and reach up to the feeder and grasp the center feeding tray divider, and lift it out. While mine is only on the first floor it keeps me from having the push through my hydrangeas to get to the feeder. It would be no problem for someone on a second or higher story from servicing the feeder from inside the house.
I appreciate the fact that the included feeding tray is removable. (Apparently, earlier versions of this product didn't have the removable feeding tray.) Because the feeding tray is also divided, you can also have two different types of foods, to see which your birds prefer. (I've had the best luck with sunflower hearts, but your local birds may have different tastes. Or you may choose smaller seed to bring in little birds and not the jays) While there are drainage holes, there is no issue with small seed like milo, sorghum or thistle. It won't fall through. (Some of it may fall between the feeding tray and the outer housing, so you'll have to blow or wipe it out when replacing the feeding tray.
The "roof" of the feeder hangs down enough to keep out most of the elements, and I haven't had any issues with the black landing strip coming off. I've seen some feeders without this strip and i think it'd be much harder for the birds to land as easily as they do on this one. (not being able to gauge where the edge of the plastic was, if there wasn't a strip.)
The birds will often poop as they finish feeding and fly away. If you have decking or some other "pretty" surface under the feeder, it's likely to need regular cleanup. Depending on the type of seed you use, you'll also have piles of shells all over the ground. Some birds will also root through the seed and knock some of it to the ground. I have mine over flowers, and don't have to deal with the poop issue, or a pileup of seed husks. The birds will happily eat the extra seed that falls to the ground.
The feeder is a resonant box, and so there is a noticeable sound when the birds land. I can clearly hear tiny finches landing, when I'm in the room, though the sound is subtle. I can easily miss it if I'm typing on my laptop when they land. Larger sparrows landing result in a loud click, that I can hear over the neighbors mowing the lawn if I'm in the same room. (Take a single sunflower seed and toss it against a window as softly as you can, and that'll give you a rough idea of what it sounds like to have a sparrow land.) Larger birds like Jays are unmistakable, but the sound isn't intrusive. (I mean, but really, if you put up this kind of feeder, you do it so you can see the birds. Why wouldn't you want to hear them arrive?)
The feeder is completely clear, so it can be challenging to approach the window with the feeder when birds arrive without them noticing you and flying away. One approach is to walk slowly. Also turning off any interior lights will make you harder to see. You can also lower blinds if you have them, and rotate them so they are slightly open. This makes it easy to walk right up to the window and peek between the slats to easily observe the birds really closely. Though over time, regulars will grow accustomed to general movement in your home, and won't fly away unless there is sudden movement. It's not uncommon to be able to slowly walk to the window with birds that have been feeding at the feeder for weeks, and stand nose to nose with the window watching them from up close.
The only drawback to this feeder (and it's a small nit-picky one) is that bird are often back-lit. In other words, they are in the shadow of the house, while everything in the background is sunny. So trying to take pictures of birds in this feeder can be challenging, except at times of the day when the sun is mostly overhead. At other times of the day pictures usually come out underexposed, while the surroundings look lush and well-lit. I've had some better luck with the room lights on. Flash photos have been complete failures, with the pre-flash lights scaring the birds right off. But, I'd rather have mediocre close-up pictures, that well-lit pictures of birds across the yard. Or, I just have to wait until the light is just right.
Overall, I'm very pleased with this feeder. It is my favorite feeder that I own, and I'm sad it took me so long to find it. I highly recommend it.
(You can see in my video how protective the Pine Siskins get over the feeder sometimes! )
