Hi, Kids, These are my feeders. As you will see, they are kinda close to the house. That's both good and bad...the birds are easy to see and the feeders are easy to fill but it also limits the type of birds I get. ie: no Ring Tails in my yard ;( These are the two tube feeders that are just off the deck. One Thistle and one Safflower. The squirrels don't bother them. The dome baffles are mostly for protection from the weather. I have a seed try for the Safflower tube but I can not attatch it until the tube is empty. This shows the edge of the deck, the suet feeder on the pine tree, the two tube feeders and the heated bird bath. You can also see the older 'bird condo' in the back. This one shows the tube feeder that is hung from the tree that is just outside the den and kitchen windows. It is for black oil sunflower seeds. This is the one that the squirrels have not yet gotten to. I see them on the tree, reaching...but they can't get to it. I see them on the pole above the feeder but, they are unsure of the larger dome baffle. It's been up since Nov. 18th but I have not seen a single squirrel eating from the feeder. Lot's of squirrels on the ground below, but that is as close as they have gotten...so far. Same feeder taken to show how close it is from the house/deck. Same feeder, looking up from the ground. It's about 15 feet up...another reason the squirrels are unsure ? Last one. This is my view of the same feeder from my desk. This is to show you how close it is to the house...about 12 - 15 feet. Also, Claire, you can see some of the plants that hang/sit in front of the window...from the birds hitting the window question. OK...one more. This is my view from inside the house, through the slider screen. My desk and chair are about 4 feet from the slider. From my chair I can look from the tree feeder to the suet and pole feeders...like watching a tennis match. Sorry about the ugly grill. I hope these come through and I hope they are not too big. Let me know. sooey

Just a reminder about Grosbeaks and tube feeders. Be sure the tops are secure and that Squirrels cant get them open. Grosbeaks will face dive in from the top and get stuck in them. I lost one last year. : (

I think you might like a simple tray feeder filled with safflower seed. I have one in my yard and so far it has attracted cardinals, finches, grosbeaks, chickadees, and the occasional nuthatches. Mourning doves also stop by regularly too. They enjoy safflower seed and seem to prefer tray feeders from what I've seen. Safflower seed also has the added benefit of not being attractive to grackles and starlings. Squirrels generally don't like it either - I say 'generally' because squirrels can be unpredictable at times.

I put out nectar, oranges and grapes (not grape jelly) and have both Baltimore and Orchard orioles, Ruby-throated hummingbirds, Gray catbirds, Rose-breasted grosbeaks, house finches, and others eating almost constantly. Cathy, I'm amazed that your oranges aren't more popular, we go through several a day with the orioles and catbirds the main indulgers. My woodpeckers don't eat the fruit at all. elke, no need to add food coloring to either hummingbird or oriole nectar, they will find it just fine without. And I use the same ratio for both as both hummers and orioles eat from either type of feeder - apparently no one told them that the little red feeder is for hummers and the big orange one is for orioles, lol. Ann