How long does it take for birds to find a suet feeder
I can relate to you when becoming restless when birds don't arrive at a new suet feeder first thing, but really its just a matter of time if you can be patient.
How long until birds find a suet feeder will be soon after the feeder is hung, if you currently feed birds via other types of feeders. New suet feeders along with never before feeding birds in your yard can take anywhere from a week to a month. In the meantime position the suet in a lit up area in and out of feeders.
Like any kind of bird feeder currently active in your yard, birds will come to a suet feeder of all feeder types in a matter of moments, if your garden is currently busy with birds.
In which case a poorly setup suet feeder will appear to be ignored all together if you haven't realized already not all suet eating birds, can indeed eat suet out of what is a restricted compact suet bird feeder cage.
What you must think about is stabilizing a fat ball or suet bird feeder out in the open within a lit up area - to be sure all birds who wish to feed on a mealworm-filled suet cake, or indeed cater to more species with seed-filled suet only, can do if you allow them.
Busy yards will find birds will come to suet you left out as soon as you go back indoors, whereby an inactive yard with birds in the morning will probably see no interest at all.
To receive the best possible chance of success, just make sure you setup your suet feeder before the birds are up early in the morning, then check the feeder once in a while to see if birds at least landing on the feeder.
It could be the positioning of the suet feeder if its the first time using any kind of feeder, and if no birds show up; of which you'd need to change position or leave suet out of feeders from time to time - so you can be sure all size birds with little to no ability on bird feeders, can eat suet if its made accessible elsewhere.
Can depend on time of year
In truth your common backyard birds will eat suet all year round, but at certain times of the year you will begin to see less suet taken.
How long does it take for birds to find a suet feeder then, well you'll see a quicker uptake in spring through early summertime - whereas wild birds will begin to ease off any kind of suet in feeders until the weather gets colder again.
How long does it take for birds to find suet feeders come autumn through wintertime would be instantly, as suet is a fatty but protein-rich bird food which must be consumed in colder months as birds lose more fat as they forage in difficult conditions.
Regularities on a suet bird feeder can change seasonally but it can also depend on a new feeder setup, or incase of an old bird feeder pole - and therefore a tried and tested bird feeder setup - noticing birds coming to feeders can be a matter of minutes.
Its important to continue to feed wild birds via a fat ball or suet cake feeder as you do, baring mind there's a possibility of waste if you don't time it correctly when starting out.
You can't keep suet out in feeders past its expiry date, with the current suet expiry date rapidly speeding up when suet is exposed to the elements' outdoors. You will have up to 2 weeks to use up suet, so time it right to avoid the possibility of wasting suet.
Suet feeders will see new arrivals
Regardless of how long before birds find a suet feeder in particular, its important to remember any kind of suet feeder will be a popular choice among birds who are attracted to suet - and will show interest in due course.
New arrivals like Chickadees or Finches will be seen to favor a seed-filled suet fat ball or suet between them; Cardinals or Blue Jays will eat seed-filled suet too - only the suet feeder must be accessible for these larger, so therefore less able bird feeder birds.
Do accommodate all wild birds with an easy to access feeder, or allow birds that can use feeders, but are less inclined to if not made easy.
American Robins or Bluebirds will find suet feeders in a matter of minutes if they currently arrive at your other feeders on a daily basis; despite that, they will ignore it if a precariously positioned suet feeder kicks them off every time they attempt to feed on it.
Best way to hang a suet feeder then would be to lean it up against a tree branch or rest it on the bird feeder pole, to avoid what is a hard to land on a small compact swinging bird feeder.
You see birds won't take much time at all to find a suet feeder in your garden, if only the birds are frequently seen in your yard.
No birds in your yard prior to hanging a suet feeder on a tree or pole will almost see no new or old arrivals coming to the suet feeder any time soon, unfortunately.
Display in lit up area
How long until birds find a suet feeder will again depend on if birds frequent your yard, and therefore are attracted to other bird feeders as we speak every day of the week.
If no feeders are utilized in your yard at all, then you can't really expect wild birds to turn up out of the blue.
Birds are unable to smell so you would have to rely on sight only, thus its vital to setup up your suet feeders in a lit up area.
If birds frequent a tree within your yard then go ahead and hang a feeder on a visible branch, whereby you can attract birds to a suet feeder in no time at all if it can hang it on a bird feeder pole - and that pole is positioned in an area that birds can spot as they pass overhead - or birds can notice the feeder every time they land to rest.
Situate the suet feeder along with other bird feeders for seeds and peanuts as you'll find more success. Grouping bird feeders close together will be more effective than scattering individual bird feeders over a wider area.
You must remember to use assorted suet cakes or fat balls to cater to as many wild bird species' diets as possible; with seed or mealworm suet being the best option you can feed multiple birds at any one time.
Better still, don't always rely on a suet feeder to feed birds when suet fat balls or cakes can be better utilized when left out on top of a platform for less able bird feeder birds.
Conclusion
Less of an issue but something to think about is that whilst suet can be seen to be popular all year round, some of us do notice suet being eaten more when fledglings arrive in spring, then less so as months we approach mid summer.
How long does it take for wild birds to find your suet feeder then will be almost instantly if you already feed birds on a daily basis.
If you don't utilize bird feeders in your yard at this time, I can say for certain a new suet feeder hung up or positioned in your yard can see anywhere between a week to a month or so until birds begin to use it on a daily basis.
Experienced backyard birders will expect an abundance of wild birds who frequent your garden daily, will arrive at any new bird feeder ASAP.
Continue to display suet feeders in particular in a lit up yet quiet spot in your yard; preferably in the center of the yard near vegetation or trees - then it will just be a matter of time before any birds are really seen to land on the suet feeder.
If you setup the right conditions for all size birds who will have various abilities on bird feeders, then expect instant success.
Although to utilize what is a small compact suet fat ball feeder for larger birds who can't land on it, to see no interest at all. Cater to all bird sizes and abilities or else it will seem like an eternity before birds are seen to find or even feed on the suet made available.
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