Whole Peanut Bird and Squirrel Wreath Feeder

Inside: A bird and squirrel wreath feeder is a unique way to feed some harder to attract birds like woodpeckers.  Many people feel that adding a whole peanut feeder is a great distraction for the squirrels.  I highly recommend this feeder if you don’t mind feeding some of the local squirrel population. Disclosure:  there are Amazon links in this post.  If you click I may make some coffee money but at absolutely no cost to you.

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Value of A Bird and Squirrel Wreath Feeder to Wildlife

A bird and squirrel wreath feeder is a unique way to feed some harder to attract birds like woodpeckers.  Blue Jays are often at my regular feeders but are bossy birds.  Giving them a whole shell peanut feeder is a great way to keep them away from the smaller bird feeders.  Lots of other birds love peanuts too.  For those winter months where high quality protein and unsaturated fat sources are hard to find, unsalted whole or shelled peanuts are a great option.

Squirrel Distraction

I will often get squirrels at my feeders.  I am a lover of all of my wildlife.  Last season, I supported a mother grey squirrel and her 4 babies at my feeders.  They are such an acrobatic, entertaining animal and so cute.  I couldn’t bear to set up a system to keep them off the feeders.  Many people feel that adding a whole peanut feeder is a great distraction for the squirrels.  They feel it keeps them away from the seed feeders for their other birds.

Squirrel TV

My father is in a nursing home.  He has a window bed.  When he lived at his home he made dozens of bird feeders over the years.  He used to get upset by the squirrels ‘stealing’ his bird seed.  Over the years, he grew to love watching their acrobatics as they worked out ways to overcome the obstacles he set up for them.  He also loved watching them chase and play with each other in his yard.

As he has a window view in his new home, I thought I’d set up a bird and squirrel wreath feeder near his window to provide some entertainment.  The results as you’ll see below were beyond my expectations:

Where Can You Get A Bird and Squirrel Wreath Feeder?

My father adores this feeder.  Whole peanuts are not always cheap however.  Amazon currently has a 25lb bag of raw in shell peanuts for about $1.92.  This model wreath feeder is also recommended by Amazon and is an attractive red color.  I ordered this beauty whole peanut bird and squirrel wreath feeder from Amazon in black. Check out this whole peanut wreath feeder.  It comes with in shell peanuts also.  You could also fill this feeder with suet balls.  My dad noticed that squirrels had this feeder emptied by the end of the day.  They can be relentless.  Suet balls would likely slow the process down considerably.  Check out these from Amazon priced at about $1.12 per ball.

Filling this feeder is actually easier than it looks.  Place your hand against one opening of the spring and drop peanuts in using your hand to guide them in.

This article from Birds and Blooms provides some great advice about the value of peanuts to birds and squirrels.

Check out these related posts:

• 10 Absolutely Excellent Reasons to Feed Amazing Local Birds

• Birds and Bird Feeders: What in the World do You Know?

I highly recommend this feeder if you don’t mind feeding some of the local squirrel population.  As you can see by the above video they can be very entertaining.  It can be expensive to maintain as in shell peanuts are not cheap.  But the entertainment value of attracting some birds (and squirrels) you might not otherwise see makes it a worth-while venture.  Even if you only fill it once in a while.  Blue jays and squirrels seem to sense the presence of peanuts from miles away.