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Sparrow with wide wingspan, flying away from hanging metal bird feeder

Which birds use hanging feeders

I can't list them all but most birds who are seen to use any type of feeding device in our yards, will attempt to feed out of a hanging feeder however hard it may be.

What birds use hanging type bird feeders will be all common backyard birds; those that don't eat out of suspended feeders are not what you'd call bird feeder birds. Birds like Chickadees, Finches, Warblers, Jays, Hummingbirds, Orioles, Sparrows, Woodpeckers, Grosbeaks and more, all use hanging feeders.

I could say wild birds who mostly eat insects or worms off the ground like Bluebirds or Blackbirds, don't use hanging bird feeders; yet at the same time both species can be found on restricted hanging bird feeders on a daily basis.

You see there's no telling which wild birds use hanging bird feeders, because if they come under the common backyard bird category - they are certainly able to feed off a hanging bird feeder in the yard.

Less able birds like Cardinals and Jays prefer to feed off the ground, but again are one of the most common backyard bird feeder birds in the United States.

It can depend on the type of hanging bird feeder though can't it. If its a small compact hanging seed feeder - and indeed an open bird feeder tray - they're all pretty much accessible to multiple species, while others must go without.

In which case you could say all common backyard birds use hanging bird feeders.

List of which birds can use a compact suspended bird feeder certainly gets shorter. While Cardinals to Pigeons can use an open bird feeder tray - only Hummingbirds, Orioles, Chickadees, some Warblers, many Finches and Woodpeckers use hanging feeders.

Many birds I've not listed like Titmouse to Sparrows come to hanging bird feeder on a regular basis; again though, there's too many bird feeder birds who can use hanging bird feeders - yet will be impossible to name them all.

Where you place a bird feeder can attract some bird species or discourage them all together. Hummingbirds like to feed under the sun, where they could avoid a nectar-filled feeder hung up in a tree.

Best tip for hanging birds feeders I can offer you, is to always hang bird feeders off a bird feeding station pole, in a well lit up area.

Assume all birds feed on this type

As I've recognized over a 140 wild birds who are both common backyard birds, and birds who come to some kind of bird feeder - I would say all but a few wild birds use a hanging type of bird feeder in particular.

Its how you recognize a backyard bird right, and whether they eat out of bird feeders; nest in bird houses; or bathe/drink in bird baths. Of course each and every wild bird who does so can be classed as a backyard bird, and there's more than I can list.

With that in mind, I would assume all backyard birds come to a bird feeder of some kind or another.

Which wild birds use hanging style bird feeders on the other hand, will probably be all those you've come to recognize in and around feeders.

Cardinals to Blue Jays use hanging bird feeders, yet will rely more on open dish/tray type bird feeders, or traditional suspended bird feeders that use a spill tray which acts as a convenient place to perch, for less able birds at feeders.

Remember, not all Warblers come to bird feeders but those that do - like Black-throated Blue Warblers or Oranged-crowned Warblers - who are both frequent backyard birds, will feed out of an open or more restricted hanging feeder.

Also assume, all Chickadees to the many Finches will following suite of these Warblers.

Limits of hanging feeders

Which birds use hanging feeders are what you'd call common backyard birds, and these are bird species we've come to name by sight, sounds and behavior.

What birds don't come to our back or front yards where birders like to observe them using one bird device or another, will not be those that come to bird feeders of course.

With that, there's too many species who don't come to backyards - to use bird feeders or forage off the lawn - and therefore have no desire to start now. Why that matters, is because you probably won't be familiar with most of them, so there's no need to list all wild birds who don't use hanging feeders.

Suspended bird feeders that are more confined to perching in a limited space, like on clear tube seed feeders, will prevent larger wild birds like Jays, Cardinals to Catbirds - all of whom tend to avoid clinging at an awkward angle.

What these bird species have in common, is that they are ground feeding birds by nature.

While most have come to rely upon and understand how any type of hanging feeder works, its still a small, unstable device some birds prefer to avoid.

Quicker to list those that don't

To be honest, it will be quicker to list wild birds who don't use hanging feeders, but as I've mentioned, it would be obvious species like Hawks or Owls, who aren't a common backyard bird.

Well they are in some parts of the country, but not what backyard birders expect at bird feeding equipment, placed conveniently out in the yard.

You could say Pigeons and Blackbirds don't use hanging bird feeders, as they're ground feeding birds after all.

In spite of that, these bird species and more will frequently come to a suspended bird feeder. And while a Pigeon in particular would like to, it will find perching on a small compact suspended bird feeder, far beyond their ability, due to size and lack of agility.

I can say with certainty that Pigeons or Doves don't use compact hanging bird feeders, including Crows and Magpies - as there's no way to safely perch as they feed.

While many members of the Sparrow, Chickadee and Titmice, Finches, Wrens and Thrushes do use hard to use bird feeders, many member of these same families don't use bird feeders at all, because they aren't backyard birds by nature.

Conclude

I think there's too many common backyard birds to list right now which do use any type of hanging bird feeder; whereas the list will get much shorter when you only take small, compact suspended bird feeders into consideration.

Of the wild bird families that are well known at hanging bird feeders, expect to see House Sparrows, all Chickadees, Woodpeckers, many Finches and a few Warblers - and probably all the Hummingbirds - with some wild bird species staying well clear.

Stay clear because in spite of their relationship, other members of various wild bird species are only present in the wild, and never come close to suburban yards.

Any backyard bird who is seen to visit a bird feeder, bird house or bird bath, are 100% capable of utilizing a hanging bird feeder.

How restricted or unstable it is can have its say, yet if its hangs and is accessible to all size birds with an easy perch placement, expect all birds to use a hanging bird feeder.

Some common backyard birds will want to use a bird feeder that hangs, like Jays or Cardinals, but often can't due to their size holding them back.

With that, you will expect most Finches, Woodpeckers, Sparrows, Chickadees and Titmouse to use a hanging bird feeder, with no trouble at all.

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