How to choose a seed feeder for garden birds

With the news in early 2025 that the RSPB had suspended sales of bird tables and other feeders with flat surfaces because of evidence showing an increased risk of disease transmission and especially in finches, many people have been looking at alternative ways to safely feed their garden birds. And viewers of the last episode of BBC’s Winterwatch will have also heard both Iolo Williams and Chris Packham express serious concerns about the danger of feeding garden birds from flat surfaces. 

Hanging seed feeders which are typically tubular in style have long been popular, but now they’re even more so, as there’s a general consensus between experts, us included, that they present a lower disease risk to garden birds. But with so many types and sizes of tube feeder to choose from and with a huge variation in price, how do you go about picking the right one for your garden? We’ve considered the main factors to take into account, so here’s our guide.

Our number one piece of advice is about hygiene, because hanging seed feeders can still present a serious risk of disease transmission in garden birds if they’re not kept clean. It’s obvious and understandable that a feeder which can’t easily be taken apart and put back together is going to deter some people from keeping it clean, so always avoid such feeders and only buy one which makes the task quick and easy. Good examples would be our Ring Pull Click Seed Feeders and Big Easy Seed Feeder. It takes just seconds to remove and refit the ‘port and perch’ part of most of the feeders we offer, as shown here.

This again relates to bird health, as the problem with trays which sit below feeders is that they can quickly build up harmful waste which birds will rummage through looking for food, plus also become contaminated with bird faeces. And even if the tray is kept clean, a finch infected with the fatal disease Tricomonosis can drop food onto it which another finch may pick up and become infected as well. Of course without a tray dropped food and waste will fall to the ground, but birds such as Wood pigeons are likely to clear up much of the food, plus it’s anyway essential to regularly move feeders to different positions in a garden to stop the ground below them becoming contaminated.

The problem with feeders that have straight perches, is that ground feeding species like Robin and Chaffinch can struggle to perch on them. Feeders with round perches effectively act as more of a platform, so more species of small songbird are able to feed.

Chaffinches are much more able to use feeders with round perches – like here on the Flo Festival Seed Feeder, with a Chaffinch eating Black Sunflowers

Like many things in life, buying cheap when it comes to bird feeders is generally a false economy. (We sell feeders at a range of prices, but those at the lower end of our range certainly aren’t ‘cheap’ in poor quality terms.) The plastic tube on cheap feeders will often discolour quickly and crack, plus low quality plastic fittings are unlikely to last long – and especially if you have grey squirrels visiting your garden.

Which brings us on to the problem of Grey squirrels, which in some areas of the UK can dominate bird feeders and to the point of discouraging small birds from feeding. The solution here is a squirrel-proof feeder, with the two basic types being those which have a metal cage around them to prevent squirrels getting to the seed, and the other working by having a spring-loaded mechanism which closes the feeder’s ports with the weight of a squirrel on a perch. So if you want to discourage Grey squirrels, then go for one of these options but be sure to also take into account the previous points above.

And finally, it’s normally the case that the larger the feeder the better value for money it is. For example, a feeder with six ports often costs only about 50% more than a small feeder with just two ports, with the reason being that the base and top are the same for both sizes, plus the plastic tube – even though longer – makes up the smallest cost of the whole feeder. But the other real benefit of a larger feeder is that more birds can feed at once, with this reducing squabbling between them and therefore less energy wasted competing for perches.

This is the six port Big Easy Feeder – very high quality and easily and quickly comes apart for cleaning. The Sunflower Hearts are being enjoyed by Chaffinches, Goldfinches and a Brambling