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Sparrow flying away from suspended seed tube feeder

How to put bird seed in a bird feeder

Bird seed feeders are made in such a way a child can put in seeds, with an option to remove the lid all the way off, or the lid will remain attached as you pour in seeds.

How to put bird seeds in a bird feeder requires you to only pull up the lid to put to one side, to provide an unobstructed clear tube container the seeds pour in to. Similarly, a lid can be pulled off all the way if its a screw open/close option. Seeds can spill in the re-filling phrase quite easily, yet little will be wasted.

When replenishing bird seeds in their own feeder, it must be the easiest type of bird feeder you can operate in your yard.

Screw open the lid to provide full access to the interior while a pop open lid will usually stay attached to a metal hanger, which is used to hang on a bracket or tree branch.

While you pour any seed varieties into bird feeders, do expect some seeds to be wasted.

Waste usually comes when pouring in seeds where the lid is removed or placed over to one side... that's downside to seed feeders I suppose so just keep it to a minimum.

Along with you accidentally spilling bird seeds on the ground below - and preferably outside in the yard - seeds will drop out via the port wells where wild birds normally poke their bills in, to grab their favorite seeds.

What's worse is you can lose more bird seeds as you hang the seed feeder back up in the yard, as any angle could force the seeds to spill out of the port wells again.

Bird seed feeders rely on the seed load creating pressure on the seeds to remain in a tight pile, disturbing this fragile seed pile inside the feeder at any angle other than an upright one, will cause seeds to spill.

I've mostly focused on clear plastic tube seed feeders, thus any wooden hopper style seed feeder will rely on the whole roof being pulled up to access the interior.

What can go wrong after you've put bird seeds in a seed feeder, is the seeds themselves continue to filter out through seed port wells, which is a rarity, so don't worry.

What else can happen is wild birds are unable to access seeds due to seeds unfortunately being stuck together at the access points; seeds can clunk together in such a way, with only loose seeds that can dispense properly in a seed bird feeder.

Don't check soon after you put bird seeds in, as you could eyeball the quality of the seeds pouring into the feeder, with a loose seed mix suitable for the feeder.

Lift up or screw open lid only

What is so great about any type of wild bird seed feeder, is that they are very user-friendly, providing you a way to replenish the feeder with fresh seeds in a matter of minutes.

Most common bird seed feeders can be opened in one of two ways: first option is to simply lift up the lid to pop it open, where you may need to push it over to the side.

Second option is less used, but is the reliable screw open lid this time that would open in a clockwise direction, and therefore a counterclockwise direction to close.

Truth be told, both options are super secure as you don't tend to place a bird seed feeder at an angle the lid risk opening up... thus risking your load of bird seeds spilling on the ground below.

Bear in mind the lids that are designed to pop up whilst remaining attached to the hanging bar, are never designed to come off fully.

While these methods refer to your common cheap bird seed feeder to hang on a pole, of course squirrel proof seed bird feeders may be a little different.

Access to the seeds in a squirrel proofed feeder would normally result in access through the squirrel proof cage, yet all parts will remain assembled.

With a cage surrounding a seed feeder you simply pop open the lid fully this time, whilst a specialty Squirrel Be Gone Max device or Squirrel Buster Classic seed feeder may utilize the basic lift up function, rather than the screw open action.

Cover ports when tipped right way up

When you put bird seeds in any kind of seed bird feeder, the feeder itself must be put on a flat surface outdoors only - as you can expect spilled seeds in the process - while carefully inserting seeds with the lid removed or put to one side.

Other bird feeder types can provide a way to put bird feed in the feeder via bottom, while a seed bird feeder is always via the top.

With some seeds spilling as you pour the seed mix into the clear tube seed bird feeder, seeds will spill thus why I recommend doing it in the yard.

What isn't accidental but can never really be avoided is when pouring in seeds, some seeds will naturally spill through the seed port wells on the feeder. Its an open gap where seeds need time to stabilize, and in this process you can expect seeds to fall out of these gaps positioned on the tube where the perches are affixed.

It can get a little more complicated than that with most people forgetting until its too late.

When the seed bird feeder is suspended back up on the bird feeding station pole or branch, you are likely to do so at an angle.

Littlest of angles can result in even more seeds spilling in the process of hanging the feeder back up.

With that in mind you must keep the seed feeder at a 90° or 0° angle to prevent seeds spilling in a way they do when the feeder is leaning to one side. Its why its important to prevent bird feeders swinging as you'll lose far more bird seed that way.

Spill seeds in available seed tray

How you put bird seeds in their corresponding bird feeder then is via the lid, where it will pop all the way off or stay attached to the hanger, the seed feeder is suspended on.

And with that the lid can be screwed off like everyone has become accustom to, where the lid will definitely be removed all the way off this time.

Be it a super cheap seed feeder or a specialty yet more expensive Nyjer seed bird feeder you can buy, access to the interior to pour in seeds will be similar to how they function across multiple seed bird feeders.

What you might have attached to your particular seed bird feeder could be an effective seed catcher tray.

Seed trays attached to the base of a seed feeder are made to prevent birds wasting seeds as they eat off the feeder.

On the plus side exposed bird seeds like this are more accessible to wild birds including larger Cardinals or Blue Jays who would otherwise struggle on a seed feeder.

When you put bird seeds in a bird feeder then its vitally important to take full advantage of this seed tray. Pour seeds into the tube as you do, then allow seeds to spill out into the tray, to get it started.

Summary

How you put bird seeds in a corresponding bird seed feeder is to simply pop up or unscrew the lid on top.

With two ways to open a common seed feeder, you will lift up the lid still attached to the hanger that is used to suspend the feeder. While the second option can be the screw to open lid, to screw in the opposite direction to close.

Lids can come off all the way yet the lids that pop off usually remain attached, thus its vital to move the lid out of the way before you begin to pour in the seeds.

You must expect some bird seeds to be lost in the process yet additional seeds can be spilled in the pouring process - as seeds will fall through the ports - where wild birds will normally perch outside of the feeder to feed on the accessible seeds.

You could think about covering up these port wells in a way you know best, but really few bird seeds will be lost, it won't be worth you time.

On the subject of losing bird seeds when filling up the seed feeder, it is possible to lose more seeds as you put the bird feeder back up on the bracket or pole.

Seed bird feeders angled any way other than at a 90° or 0° angle will result in seeds spilling out of the port wells.

When you've put bird seeds into the clear tube where seeds are expected to slowly filter down, do purposely spill bird seeds in any attached seed tray if made available.

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