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NOTE: Although the songbird plus feeder is no longer manufactured, the Droll Yankees New Generation 15″ Sunflower Bird Feeder is nearly identical.
I am familiar with the Droll Yankees brand of feeders, mainly hummingbird feeders, so when I bought this seed feeder, I expected a quality product. It’s very sturdy and is made of powder-coated metal ports, base, and lid and a polycarbonate tube.
Pros
- Very sturdy
- Long-lasting
- Reasonable price
- Easy to fill
- Lifetime warranty
Cons
- Birds don’t seem to use it much
- Difficult to clean as base must be removed after screws are taken out
- Not enough ports for a 15″ feeder
It withstands the bleach in the cleaning process fairly well and has not shown much clouding up of the plastic from the experience. Cleaning the base is relatively challenging as it must be taken apart with a screwdriver for adequate cleaning.
Keeping our feeders clean keeps the birds healthy. It requires a good bottlebrush, a bleach and water (1 part/9 parts), and the ability to get the base off of the feeder (read the full instructions on cleaning feeders). The seeds just eventually work their way down into the base of the feeder, between it and the polycarbonate tube. If you leave it there, it will mold.
The feeder is 15 inches tall and holds approximately four cups of seeds. The metal cap slides up the hanging wire and the wire tilts over so that you can access the tube to fill it with seeds. This cap/wire combination make it very easy to open and fill. The lid is pretty heavy though, which might help deter squirrels from opening it.
The feeder only has four ports, whereas many of the other metal feeders have 6. This isn’t necessarily a problem though as it means there won’t be as much competition for the seeds.
For some reason, the birds in my backyard don’t seem to care for to feed on this feeder. It is always the last one emptied. Whether this is a problem with the feeder (the ports seem to be the same height between perch and hole) or if it is just a matter of the other feeders being easier to empty, I do not know. I do know that the birds in my backyard will empty all of the other feeders prior to emptying this one. It’s very curious.
This feeder has held up really well over the two years. Droll Yankees has a great lifetime warranty for their feeders and will replace or repair a damaged feeder. I don’t know why my birds seem to prefer other feeders to this one – whether it is a fault of the feeder construction or if the other feeders are just easier to get seeds from, but knowing this, I don’t think I would recommend purchasing this particular one. Buy Droll Yankees New Generation Feeder here.
Read the review for multiple tube feeders here.
NOTE: This article includes affiliate links. I purchased this feeder myself (I’m a bit of a backyard birding enthusiast) and am reviewing it based on my experience of the last year and a half of using the feeder in the conditions of my backyard in zone 7b.
Bird Feeding Add-Ons
Bird Seeds Scoop & Funnel
This simple little device is awesome! It makes it so easy to fill up a feeder. Rather than taking the bag and attempting to aim the seeds into a small opening, you can scoop them out and make sure you don’t miss a single seed!
My only problem with this scoop is that it occasionally gets clogged when you are working with sunflower seeds – you just have to shake it a little to or close and open the damper to get it going again.
The scoop is made of heavy plastic, so it’s very durable. I’ve had mine for 3 years now and it works the same as it did the day I purchased it.
HOW IT WORKS: Use it as a scoop to scoop seeds then stand it up right and open the damper to let the seeds go into the feeder. Great for hitting a small hole.
HINT: Always check to make sure damper is closed before you fill it. Damper allows you to stop the flow of seeds easily so you don’t overfill.
Squirrel Stopper Pole
My solution to preventing squirrels from getting to the birdseed is to keep them from getting to the feeders. The only thing that has ever worked for me is to hang my feeders on this is the Squirrel Stopper Pole. Despite the claims of many birdfeeders, I have found that once a squirrel reaches a feeder, they will find a way to get to the seeds. I’ve seen squirrels hang upside down by their toes to be able to pull seed out from a port and feed on it. I’ve had my squirrel stopper bird feeder pole for several years now and I still love it. It keeps the squirrels from ever reaching the bird feeders since they can’t climb up the pole. Read more about this pole.
