Wildlifeful logo
Bird feeder pole impaled on lawn, in tidy backyard with tree foliage

Where to place bird feeder pole

What will become a centerpiece to your yard, a bird feeder pole placement must always remain accessible to you, yet leaves a clear flight path for birds to come and go.

Where to place a bird feeder pole in your yard would be in the center of the lawn, in a well lit up area, but not necessary in direct sunshine. Stab the pole in the lawn that is firm enough to sustain a metal pole upright, whilst pushing the pole closer to foliage as birds prefer to use this natural vegetation to take cover.

With no hard or fast rules where a bird feeding station pole must go, it entirely depends on your backyard layout and available space where the pole will end up stabbed in the ground.

As you wish to utilize a multi-purpose, highly effective bird feeder pole to group a series of popular bird feeders together, you'd want to prioritize a lit up area in the yard as wild birds will be less inclined to venture into a dark, secluded corner of your backyard.

Light is a must for inviting birds to eat on feeders, because much like Hummingbirds, all other bird species prefer to feed in a lit up area as oppose to the dark or in the shadows.

Where you finally impale the pole in the lawn must be quite firm turf, in a way that will stabilize the pole while in use. Soft soil will simply see the pole lean over in due course which will be made difficult to fix later.

How to keep a bird feeder pole straight relies heavily on solid turf which will see the pole remain vertical.

Now its just a matter of maintaining the all important 4-5 feet distance off the ground for the bird feeders to hang in safety.

Your manufacturer will recommend how deep to bury the pole in the ground, which should give you a 6 feet or so tall bird feeder pole in total. Where you planned to place the pole originally, can change if there's a more firm lawn space elsewhere.

If you can't fill up all the spare feeder brackets on your pole with too few feeders available, then its vital to prioritize facing the bird feeders towards the foliage or where your birds happen to come to visit the feeders.

Allow at least three sides accessible, of which birds can arrive on your feeders whilst avoiding obstructions that can injure birds.

All while don't forget to keep a clear line of sight for yourself as you observe birds coming and going from the bird feeder pole all day; with a bird feeder pole commonly sat some way from the window you wish to observe them without too much disturbance.

Stab pole in lit up area

Well, for sure wild birds will happily come to a bird feeding station or Shepard's hook setup in the shadows, but a lit up area must be prioritized.

You see if the pole is impaled in a dark area of the yard, then its quite possible the birds would usually avoid this kind of area - as there's usually no vegetation of interest - whilst the dark area is usually set against a structure, like the house or shed.

Situate the bird feeder pole in a lit up area of the yard to attract birds to your bird feeder, with greater success than if the same feeders were hung off the pole in a darken corner.

Shade does have its benefits in the dead of summer when preserving Hummingbird nectar inside their corresponding feeders, for example - well other kinds of bird food hung up in their own feeder stand to last longer in the cold, and therefore a shaded spot.

Lit up areas of the yard basically means to place the bird feeder pole with the bright sky above it, not necessary in a well lit up, sunny area.

Birds will locate all the bird feeders hung up on the pole by sight only, which is the only way birds find a bird feeder.

Situate the bird feeding station in the middle of the lawn is a good idea, but pushing the pole location closer to natural vegetation is better still.

All will provide a great deal of natural lighting, whilst its perfectly fine if the area is naturally moved into the shade in the morning or later in the afternoon.

Situate near to natural vegetation

What will probably the most active part of your yard throughout the day where birds occupy the most, is in natural vegetation with or without bird feeders strung up.

Its therefore essential you recognize wild birds behavior in their habitat in the wild, which will be closely replicated in your yard.

Don't rule out hanging bird feeders in trees or shrubs if you have them, but to push the bird feeder pole close to foliage and other vegetation is certain to keep birds in their comfort zone, while providing common birds a quick escape route or hiding place.

Bird feeder poles of any kind would still be ideally impaled in the ground after being assembled out of the box - which will be impaled in soft turf like the lawn with some firmness still - yet is still placed in a lit up area, out of the trees or foliage shadow.

Never mind if it isn't as long as wild birds will notice feeders as they pass overhead, or indeed whenever birds quickly land in your yard to rest.

No hard-or-fast rules where to place a bird feeder pole, as a few short feet away from vegetation will do, and so will situating the bird feeder pole over low growing foliage, in a way the bird feeder hangs directly over vegetation.

Bird feeders must still be hung up to 5 feet off the ground, yet the foliage directly beneath hanging bird feeders will allow additional perching areas for birds.

With this positioning in mind, stay mindful of creating artificial land bridges for pests like squirrels who will use foliage to access bird feeders via the foliage or metal pole.

Keep clear of obstructions

You know what its quite easy to forget about where you place a bird feeder pole, whilst being completely unaware of any ramifications that can happen later on.

Focus on where to place bird feeders on their corresponding pole for sure, but more importantly, remember wild birds require a clear line of sight.

What a clear line of sight is in regards to wild birds, is a flight path to and from the bird feeders hung up on a pole, without obstructions getting in their way.

Birds can and probably will land on your bird feeders directly from above, while others will ponder their options for a short while whilst resting on a branch or fence in your yard. What you must do is recognize these birds will fly almost horizontally to the bird feeder pole - with hopefully no obstacles getting in their way.

Obstructions won't cause a major issue but there's always a chance a clumsy, or what could be an unwell bird, will fly into something in their way.

What else can be an issue is situating the bird feeder pole too close to the house, or indeed locating the bird feeders too close to a birdhouse - which will create all kinds of issues come spring.

Grouping bird feeders close together on a pole is vital, but never in a way where certain bird feeders remain inaccessible from all directions.

Don't take a lit up area too likely in which the pole embedded in the lawn is out in the open, with up to 2 or 3 feet minimum from any structure, with the exception of natural vegetation.

Clear line of sight

Now that I've demonstrated the need to place a bird feeder pole out in the open; close to natural foliage but some way away from structures - is it possible the feeders can remain hidden... or would you like to observe birds coming and going to feeders.

You see its easy to forget you can lose your clear line of sight, from wherever you watch birds coming and going to your bird feeder pole setup.

With that to consider, don't get carried away with a location for the pole permanently, until you can guarantee no obstructions for birds whilst maintaining a line of sight for yourself.

What will be the best way to hang bird feeders on their pole is directly in front of the window you intend to observe birds throughout the day; whilst making sure the pole is placed in the ground up to 10 or so feet away from the glass window, for safety reasons.

Position your assorted bird feeders for suet, nuts, seeds or even Hummingbird or Oriole nectar, in a way the most popular feeder faces the direction birds arrive to your feeders.

Birds will prioritize bird feeders facing - or what we can call the rear of the bird feeder pole - while prioritizing feeders facing outwards.

This would give birds a way to escape if they must while only hopping on to rear located bird feeders once they arrive whilst flying overhead, or directly in the vegetation in the front, side or far back of the yard.

Give birds space to wonder

And there you have it, its vital to give birds a place to land on your bird feeder pole in peace and quiet, all while providing an undisturbed area which will give them time to weigh up their options of what bird feeder food to try.

Give time and space for birds to wonder off your bird feeder pole, as they hop up on higher objects, or indeed forage on the ground in case of ground feeding birds.

Birds will then perch on the bird feeding station pole long before they eat, thus time must be given for wild birds to safely consider what to do next.

When you place a pole near to a tree or a hedgerow, birds will use this natural coverage to ponder; yet a yard with little to no foliage will make it harder for you to attract birds to what will probably be brand new bird feeders hung up off multiple pole brackets.

Its a birds natural foraging behavior to wonder around their feeding area, thus its imperative you give them time and space to do so.

Birds have come to recognize a bird feeder for what it is, which is a device that holds their favorite bird food alternatives - yet time spent on the pole itself - will be for less than what birds spend in the vegetation, if any is available near by.

To summarize

No need to be too hard on yourself at first, because the ideal bird feeder pole placement doesn't necessary happen first time around, as there's some trial and error to be had.

Where to place a bird feeder pole first thing is in a lit up area. It doesn't have to be a sunlit area, just a bright area which would be lit up with visible sky above.

Birds prefer to feed in our yards in a lit up area as a matter of safety, thus a dark area of the garden must remain out of bounds for a bird feeder pole.

Ideally the bird feeder pole must be impaled into the lawn near to natural vegetation if you have it; birds like to bounce to and from tree branches or hedges with less time spent on the pole - and more time perched out of sight, possibly in a concealed area.

Where you decide to place a bird feeding station of Shepard's hook must remain out of the way of obstructions - like garden furniture or the washing line - to reduce the possibility of wild birds crashing into an unexpected obstacle.

Similarly, with all that in mind, if it matters to you be sure to maintain a clear line of sight for yourself, as most people prefer to observe wild birds eating at their bird feeders throughout the entire day of course.

Center the bird feeder pole in the middle of the lawn in a well lit up area.

Push the pole closer to natural vegetation as an option whilst providing a safe location that provides birds a place to weigh up their options, that excludes the pole for most of the time spent eating at feeders believe it or not.

Share this article: