How to stabilize a bird feeder pole

Birds are unlikely to land on bird feeders that are hung off a pole that is seen to move in wind or randomly, thus to stabilize the pole there's no risk of deterring backyard birds.

How to stabilize a bird feeder pole is to first mount an additional metal post or wooden plank so you can bury the bird feeder pole deeper - in what is saturated ground - which can be the cause of it moving. Bury the pole in gravel to replace turf or why not sink the pole into an above ground planter filled with gravel.

Go above and beyond to stabilize the bird feeding station or Shepherd's Hook pole as any movement can simply discourage birds feeding at your bird feeders.

Get around saturated ground which can be the cause of an always unstable bird feeder pole by sinking it even deeper into the ground.

Now wait there, don't just push it in deep as your bird feeders - which are hung off the pole will be too close to the ground - in addition to that, the pole will be too short thus a squirrel baffle can't be installed in an effort to stop climbing squirrels.

What you do then is extend your bird feeder pole by mounting an additional 3 to 4 feet metal pole or a wooden plank.

Most of the plank or metal pole will be impaled deep into the ground while the original bird feeding station pole is sunk a foot or less in.

Not too dissimilar to that is burying the original bird feeder pole into compacted stone gravel to replace the soft, saturated turf.

Even better is the possibility of impaling your bird feeder pole above ground level.

What to do is fill up a large tall plastic bucket, a wooden barrel or planter with the same gravel - with the pole a couple of feet higher off the ground - as its not buried in the lawn.

Benefits can include a manageable pole sunk into a bucket that can be dragged into a different location if need be.

Benefits to stabilizing a bird feeder pole certainly outweigh the negatives of time, expense and effort - or else birds can be seen to avoid your bird feeders all together.

Whilst its imperative to keep a bird feeder pole straight to satisfy you; a tilting pole won't discourage backyard birds - as its only the movement which can scare them away.

Mount plank to extend pole

Stabilization of your bird feeder pole is made difficult because the location where its impaled into the ground is probably saturated due to severe wet weather.

Don't try to get around an area of saturated ground as you'd have no chance. Instead, what you can do is prioritize sinking your bird feeder pole far below the saturation level by extended the length of your bird feeder pole.

Its easy to do so don't be too concerned about as you'd need a 3 to 4 foot length of wood, a additional metal pole or why not use an unused clothesline pole.

What your do is take your bird feeder pole then mount the additional length of the extension a third of the way up using wire to attach.

Don't mount the wooden plank or additional pole to your bird feeder pole to far up as it will appear unsightly.

What to do then is bury the extension part far into the ground - possibly up to 4 feet if you can - while the original bird feeder pole is only sunk into the ground a foot or so.

No way can you keep a bird feeder pole stabilized in saturated grounds, thus its possible to get underneath the saturation by extended the bird feeder pole to sink it into the ground way deeper than what is generally recommended.

Saturated ground or not, a bird feeder pole mounted to an extension up to 3-4 feet in the ground won't ever see movement.

Sink pole deeper at ground level

Rather than go through the hassle of finding a way to mount an extension to a metal pole, you can go one better with less fuss on your part.

Whilst you'd probably want to go ahead by impaling the pole into the ground if pushing it in by hand or stamping on it with your foot. Burying the bird feeder pole at ground level can be avoided when an above ground level could be the solution to a stabilized pole.

What you get then is essentially a bird feeder pole impaled into turf or gravel that is filled up in a large tall plastic bucket, a decorative wooden barrel or a garden planter.

Situate the bowl to sink the pole into in an area that satisfies your needs within your yard, and of course it can be seen and is known to attract wild birds without restrictions.

Place the barrel, bucket or planter where you see fit, only then fill it up with turf or a weight of gravel to create a better compact substance to keep a top heavy pole stable.

Fill the bucket while your bird feeder pole is centered and in position; only then can you avoid impaling the pole into a hard to penetrate gravel which you will find out later.

Above the ground bird feeder pole position can be too far off the ground if its not within reach to access - yet a higher up position may be seen far and wide by more local birds.

Bury bird feeder pole into dry gravel

Let's bring your bird feeder pole back to a ground level position again with an option to stabilize your pole better in compact gravel over saturated turf.

And why you'd do it this way is because its less hassle yet can be quite cheap at the same time.

You'd dig out as much as square foot or more of turf while at the same time lifting out mud up to two feet deep. Go carefully as you'd want to keep it tidy with an option to re-lay your lifted up lawn layer to be put back in place.

With your empty hole - which is where the bird feeder pole is going by the way - is to add a foot of dry gravel only.

Only then can you then position the bird feeder pole in the center while keeping it still at a 90 degree angle with help of a child or partner.

Its then a matter of filling in the hole with the bird feeder pole stand up in the middle of it.

Shovel gravel into the hole as you do but at every few inches step into the hole to compact the gravel with the sole of your shoes. You want to create a compact gravel hole or else the pole can be seen to loosen in due course.

With that you can also apply water to create better compaction at every few inches once the hole is in the process of being filled up.

What you end up with is a square foot of now dry gravel just level with the lawn, of which you can cover the ugly grey patch with the layer of turf you hopefully saved by.

Benefits of stabilization

Why you must keep your bird feeder pole stabilized can benefit you in many ways, yet its important to remember your doing this mostly for your common backyard birds.

Benefits certainly outweigh the fuss that goes into a stabilizing a pole, but make no mistake about it... it has to be done.

Do it at no cost at all but in an effort to keep it stable you may be forced to spend extra, but don't rush out until you know what you need and how much.

Invest in a decorative barrel to impale the bird feeder in or you may need to buy spray paint to spray over an ugly plain white plastic bucket that doesn't blend with the decor of your garden landscape.

In the end its vital you do it for the birds which must be done with safety in mind. With that in mind let's see what benefits there is to going through the time and often expense of stabilizing a metal bird feeder pole.

Birds won't be shaken off

For one thing an unstable bird feeder pole can absolutely scare of any birds if its seen to move while in use.

Wind can pick up the bird feeders as they hang which can lead to the pole suddenly tilting over while birds feed - or if birds are seen resting on the pole.

Stabilize a bird feeder pole so you can then avoid shaking off birds. Birds can be scared off to which they may never return; its vital then you do your best to make sure the pole is stable from the get go.

Leaning bird feeder pole could see the bird feeders hung too close to the ground, which can lead to difficulty for birds if there's risk of a collapse.

Bird food less likely to spill

What you may not of realized yet is an unstable bird feeder pole - namely a pole that is always seen to move - will spill bird food out of hanging bird feeders.

It may not be seen by the naked eye nor will it happen quickly, but in time you may be wondering why there's so much of a mess under your bird feeders.

How to stop a mess forming under your bird feeder is of course to stabilize the pole.

Bird food can spill simply by hanging bird feeders back up, yet if the pole is seen to drastically tilt once in a while - I can assure its mostly the seeds that will be wasted.

Feeders avoid crashing to ground

What is most important of all when stabilizing a troublesome bird feeder pole, is of course to prevent the whole bird feeding station come crashing to the ground.

Keep the bird feeders hung up to 4-5 off the ground, then keep a close eye on the bird feeders seen at any point head closer to the ground below them.

You can measure it with a tape measure initially then check it as soon as you feel there's movement in the pole - or why not follow this rule only after fixing an unstable bird feeder to prevent the issue reoccurring again.

Unstable bird feeder pole can only lean to one side yet if its allowed to lean in any direction - which can be due to wind direction - then the hole its sunk in will gradually get wider, leading to a full on collapse.

Conclusion

What can be a simple solution yet with a little work to do, is mount an additional pole, wooden plank or unwanted metal clothesline to the bird feeder pole with wire.

What this can lead to is a bird feeder pole that was once 6 feet tall is now extended up to 10 feet - of which you can bury the pole deeper in your ground.

Why do this is because you'd need to sink the pole far below the ground to get under the saturation which can be up to 3 feet deep. Saturated ground can be a cause of an unstable bird feeder pole so the pole must be buried deeper.

You can only sink the original bird feeder up to a foot deep before the bird feeders are seen to be dangerously close to your lawn.

Alternative to that but with similar intentions is to bury the bird feeder pole above ground level this time - by sinking the pole into a bucket, barrel or garden planter.

On top of this you can fill the bucket or planter with dry turf or why not use dry compact gravel.

Personally I'd avoid using gravel out of ground level as this construction material could cause a bucket or planter to collapse.

Dig out a hole of one square foot at two feet deep, fill it up a foot - then position the bird feeder pole - then fill it up to the top with the rest of the gravel while compacting it down in the process to create a solid yet temporary foundation.

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