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Specialized bird feeders are feeding stations that are specifically designed to hold a certain type of bird feed and attract a certain type of bird. For example, hummingbird feeders are made to hold nectar solutions and are accessible only to hummingbirds. Thistle bird feeders, peanut bird feeders and mealworm bird feeders are also types of specialized bird feeders. Thistle Bird Feeders Thistle bird feeders are tube feeders specially designed to hold and dispense the tiny thistle seed. Thistle feeders may either be tubes or fine-mesh bags, also known as thistle socks. Thistle seeds are also known as niger or nyjer seeds. This feeder makes the seed available only to small beaked song birds like goldfinches, pine siskins and red polls. You can also use commercial finch mixes instead of thistle seeds for this type of feeder. To keep your visiting birds healthy thistle bird feeders should be cleaned about once a month, depending on the frequency of rain. For some thistle feeders available for purchase online, check out these sites. Peanut Bird Feeders Peanut Bird Feeders are a kind of special bird feeder that can store raw peanuts and feed them to visiting birds. This feeder can either be metal or plastic mesh cages, tubes or bags. Mesh onion bags can also be used as simple peanut feeders. They can be pole mounted or can be hung from a tree. Peanut feeders can attract an extensive variety of birds. Woodpeckers, titmice and starlings are just a few of the birds that are drawn by peanuts and peanut feeders. This type of feeder is commonly used to distract starlings away from feeders that are set up for smaller birds. This type of feeder can also be very attractive to squirrels, so remember to get one that can withstand squirrel attacks and can offer a bit of protection for your birds as well. Keep in mind that peanuts can carry aflatoxin fungus. This is a type of fungi that can cause birds to fall ill or die when ingested. Be certain to buy peanuts that are aflatoxin free when buying peanuts for your feeding station. For available bird feeders, check out Birds-n-Garden.com Mealworm Bird Feeders Live food is essential to birds in their first weeks of life. Mealworms are a commonly used live food for birds and are the larvae of meal beetles that feed on vegetables and cereal. Mealworms are a great supplement for birds since it provides additional protein to the birds' diet of insects and seeds. Mealworms are relatively easy to raise and are the perfect lure for taking close-up pictures of birds. Mealworm feeders are basically small tray feeders that can hold mealworms. But these feeders can also vary and can range from empty cans to fancier feeders made of wood and glass, somewhat similar to seed bird feeders, but with holes at the two ends. There is a large variety of birds that enjoy eating mealworms. These include American robins, blackbirds, brown creepers, blue jays, brown thrashers, Carolina wrens, cardinals, chickadees, catbirds, chipping sparrows, field sparrows, downy woodpeckers, finches, grosbeaks, grackles, hairy woodpeckers, juncos, kinglets, indigo buntings, mockingbirds, orioles, nuthatches, red-bellied woodpeckers, song sparrows, tanagers, warblers and many others. You can try raising your own mealworms or you can buy them from your local bait shops or wild bird stores. You can also order them online! When purchasing mealworms, get the smaller sized worms since these worms can get longer and smaller birds might have a difficult time eating long worms. Mealworm feeders are also available from your local wild bird stores and through online stores. Try visiting Birds-n-Garden.com to check out their available mealworm feeders.
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