Seed Feeders

I've got 4 seed feeders up in the garden and recently, because I was fed up with the spillage on the ground from them I fixed large pot saucers to the bases to catch the seed. It took over a week before the birds got used to them

 

These are some of the feeders which I've fixed to a plant saucer to prevent the seed rejected by the birds being thrown/dropped onto the lawn and/or borders below. Even though I buy "Premium" Bird seed by the sack the birds throw out a surprising amount as waste.
The base of the feeders come off easily and making a hole in the base of the feeder and pot saucer is easy. I then just dropped a small nut and bolt through the holes of the feeder and pot saucer, tightened them up and pushed the feeders back onto the base.
I also made small drainage holes in the bases so that they don't fill up with rain!! I've seen feeders being sold with small extended bases to catch the seed but they've, to me, been expensive and the seed catching base too small. The pot saucers cost me £1.10p each off the Market, while the feeders were £3.50p each from a Store named "Charlies" [which is a Store worth visiting if there is one in your area].











It doesn't stop the birds "wasting" the seed but it will save, hopefully, having to pick up soggy seed from the soil and also having to pull out the resulting grass etc

 

Hi Pam, I do have Doves, Wood Pigeons, Starlings and the like in the garden but they're not too much of a problem. But, should they get to be, I would think string or wire attached from the top of the Feeder at reasonable intervals via small holes, and knots in the wire or string to stop it sliding through, to the rim of the pot saucer would stop the bigger birds from landing without stopping the smaller birds. I have tried it on a smaller feeder on the Acer Brilliantissimum at the bottom of the Garden at it seems to work okay. I've not done it with the bigger feeders as I don't have a problem so far.