Decide what kinds of seed you wish to offer birds. Some possibilities include black-oil sunflower seed, niger or thistle seed, millet or a wild birdseed mix.
Step2
Buy a tube feeder, round "satellite" feeder or a traditional hopper feeder if you plan to use sunflower seed.
Step3
Buy a tube feeder with several perches and feeding holes small enough to keep seeds from spilling out if you offer niger.
Step4
Buy a hopper feeder if you offer a wild birdseed mix.
Tips & Warnings
The small, black-oil sunflower seed, either whole or hulled, is most popular with all species of seed-eating birds.
Birdseed mixes purchased from the market are generally not your best buy, as there are many seeds in the mix that birds won't eat. Try purchasing black-oil sunflower seed or white proso millet in bulk from a feed store and make your own mix.
Most seed-eating birds will eat seeds from a tray or the ground as well as from a feeder.
Small accipiter hawks, such as the sharp-shinned or Cooper's hawk, eat birds and are often attracted to areas where birds congregate at feeders.
Seed feeders must be cleaned on a regular basis to avoid disease in birds.
Keep cats away from areas where birds are feeding or bathing.
Enthusiast 
