Seed cylinders: One of the best feeders for backyard birds
Woodpeckers, nuthatches, cardinals love compressed seed cylinders
When it comes to feeding backyard birds, there really isn’t a better combination than a compressed seed cyclinder fitted to your feeding station.
I have had my “ simple spike” on my Wild Birds Unlimited Advanced Pole bird feeding station for several years and am so impressed with it that I consider it (and most of the birds agree) my primary feeding source for our backyard birds.
Why are seed cylinders so popular?
Seed cylinders not only bring in a large variety of birds, they keep them at the feeder longer so you can appreciate them more, and a single large cylinder can last for weeks compared to the equivalent amount of feed in a typical hopper-style feeder. They are also super convenient to use and are available in a variety of seed combinations meant to attract different birds at different times of year.
Seed cylinders are long-lasting, which makes them especially useful if filling feeders is difficult for you or you’re going on vacation and will be unable to fill your feeders for several days. The cylinders are especially great summer food for the woodpeckers during the heat of the summer when traditional suet feeding can be a challenge.
Blue Jays are also big fans of the compressed seed cylinders as well. Click on the link for more on two of my favourite Blue Jay feeders including the compressed seed cylinder.
The cylinders help to keep birds at the feeders longer because they have to work at the seeds to remove them from the cyclinders. At a traditional feeder, the birds often swooping in, grab a bite and take off, before you can even appreciate them. Seed cylinders can give you a few extra moments of enjoyment.
Our cylinder feeder attracts a host of birds including plenty of woodpeckers who enjoy hammering away at the cylinder to obtain their dinner.
Five Great reasons to use seed cylinders
Seed cylinders are convenient to use. They do away with bulky bags of seed and the waste that can occur when trying to load loose seed into feeders.
They keep birds at the feeder longer so that you can get a better look at the birds. They are especially useful to get good looks at more rare birds who visit such as Indigo buntings and woodpeckers.
Seed cylinders are available in several combinations aimed at different seasons and bird-feeding mixtures.
No-melt seed cylinders provide an excellent way to attract woodpeckers during warmer months when suet is not appropriate.
The feeders and seed cylinders are available in many sizes, including pucks where you can offer a variety of seed mixes at a single feeder.
The Advanced Pole system loaded with various feeders, including the seed cylinder at the top of the pole.
I purchased my cylinder spike probably ten years or more ago as a simple, inexpensive solution to replace an aging wooden open feeder.
I was looking to replace my homemade feeder with another similar open hopper-style feeder, but noticed the variety of seed cylinders available with the spike system. At the time there were far fewer choices than there are today, but still enough to convince me to move away from another hopper-style feeder.
Since then, Wild Birds Unlimited and other manufacturers have developed a number of newer feeders designed to work with their seed cylinders. (Here is a link to their assortment of cylinder feeders).
One of the drawbacks to my spike is that it does not provide any protection for the seed cyclinder from rain and snow.
As a result, the cyclinder can break down prematurely during periods of heavy rain and humidity. Although the birds may appreciate the ease at getting at the seed during these times, I prefer to make them work a little for their dinner.
Today’s cylinder designs solve the problem of an unprotected cylinder open to the elements. Most have a roofing system of some kind built into them to provide top-down protection to the seed cylinders and reduce the amount of premature break down.
I’m not sure our blue jays and woodpeckers would be happy if a roof covered their favourite feeder. They mostly just stand on the seed cylinder and pound away at it from the top.
The result, of course, is that the birds’ hard work further breaks down the top of the cylinder and opens it up to the elements.
Wild Birds Unlimited feeder complete with a cage to prevent large birds from dominating the feeder.
The new designs not only provide a roof for seed protection, several have cages to keep the larger birds from dominating the seed cylinders and giving our smaller birds a better opportunity to enjoy the benefits the seed cylinders offer.
There is no doubt that the larger backyard birds, including blue jays, woodpeckers, cardinals, grackles and even crows, descend on our cylinders and dominate them at times.
I’ll take advantage of any opportunity to restrict their access to the cylinders.
WBU’s globe cylinder feeder’s cage is large enough to accommodate mid-sized birds like indigo buntings, sparrows, nuthatches and downy woodpeckers just to name a few. The feeder handles the regular-sized cylinders which include the no-melt cyclinders. The cage also acts as perches for the birds.
And, if the pesky squirrels manage to get up to your feeder, the cage represents another barrier to protect your expensive seed.
WBU’s Tidy feeder combines the best of all worlds with a built-in roof, a cage and a base to catch any fallen seed.
The Tidy Cylinder feeder is a great choice providing not only a roof to protect the seed from the elements and a cage to protect the seed from larger, more aggressive birds, it also includes a small, built-in catch tray to keep the seed from falling to the ground.
Other modern feeders provide open access to the cylinders, but add several perching areas to provide more access for smaller birds to enjoy their meal in peace.
A mostly eaten seed cylinder shows how the spike attaches to the pole and how the seed cylinder fits over the simple spike.
How the spike system works
Setting up my cylinder spike on the Wild Bird Advanced Pole system was simple. One of the benefits of investing in a system allows you to easily add various options.
The spike feeder simply inserts into the top of the pole system. Once attached, the seed cylinder (which comes with a hole drilled through the middle of it) is inserted over the spike. My feeder has a circular perch at the base that surrounds the cylinder, but most of the visitors simply jump on the cylinder and begin helping themselves.
Many of the new cylinder feeders are meant to hang from hooks rather than be inserted directly in the pole. This provides more opportunities to use them on any pole system or hung directly in trees.
How are the seed cylinders made
Seed cylinders are a compressed mixture of seed, nuts, and/or fruit and, depending on the mix, insects such as meal worms can be added. The feed is compressed into cylinders and mixed with Gelatin to hold the seed mixtures together.
Then it is cut to size and ready for use.
If you are on a budget or just looking to save some money, making your own cylinders is easy enough. There are several step-by-step “DIY” projects available on both Google and YouTube that will guide you through the process.
While I get great enjoyment from my bird feeding stations, providing natural food sources to our feathered friends is always the goal we should aspire to in our gardens. I have written a comprehensive post on feeding birds naturally. You can read about it here.