Awesome!! I've been spending a fortune on good quality bird seed only to have the birds drop most of it on the ground. Now you've provided the perfect solution. I am definitely going to make a couple of these! Thanks so much!
You solved one problem, but created another. In essence you've created a platform feeder with your seed trap that will certainly trap the seed tossed to the ground by your backyard birds, but it will also make it far too easy for droppings to be deposited onto the seed from birds perching above on the feeder. Droppings can also get deposited onto your trapped seed when birds will perch directly onto the seed trapped on the screen and contaminate the seed with their all too often salmonella-contaminated droppings. Exposure for garden birds to salmonella-contaminated bird droppings on feeder surfaces, or on bird seed that they will ingest can lead to the spread of salmonellosis in flocks and larger populations flocks belong to as avian salmonellosis easily spreads from bird to bird. There was a huge wave of avian salmonellosis in Pine Siskins across the southern and western US this past 2020 2021 winter resulting in the mortality rates of thousands of these affected Pine Siskins. And, the culprit was determined to be exposure for these affected Pine Siskins to bird seed contaminated with salmonella from bird feces, or exposure to salmonella-contaminated droppings on bird feeder surfaces. Droppings will accumulate on your trapped seed just as much as they would normally be accumulating on the ground below your feeder. So, to best safeguard the health of your backyard birds you should trap seed with a trap that is on the ground, and not up in the air and directly below your feeder. I built a ground seed trap that is shown on my channel that has a screen across the top that enables the seed to fall through, but also prevents birds from being able to access this all to often salmonella-contaminated seed. Bird seed that falls to the ground can also become contaminated with mildew or mold which also can lead to the spread of other backyard bird diseases. Sparrows are notorious for tossing bird seed to the ground that they don't fancy. So, sunflower seeds like you showed on your video are going to get tossed by them pretty much 100% of the time. All backyard birds like hulled sunflower seeds, so it really is the best choice for low to no-mess. For whatever it's worth, don't feel too bad, as retailers such as Wild Birds Unlimited sell platform feeders and seed traps akin to yours that make it all too easy for bacteria-laced bird droppings to get mixed up with the seed that the birds will then ingest !
Thank you for this warning! I also thought of mentioning that the platform will create an easy way for squirrels to hop over from the railing to the whole contraption. I too have almost finished making a seed catching bed (mesh on a few inches of cedar chips on dirt on mesh) and I'm hoping that plus avoiding mixes that get picked over will help. There should be a contraption that funnels seed from under feeders into a separate container.
That is a strong seed catcher. I made a smaller version to hang under one of my small bird feeders. The sparrows were just beginning to accept it when along came a woodpidgeon and tilted everything! I am loosing so much expensive wild bird food falling on the borders, creating non stop weeding. There is a mountain of fat from fat balls at the rear of a border. At my wits end looking for remedies.
after two years and no subsequent videos showing that this contraption works: too big, too low, the wind will blow what isn’t poop off of this platform. Six minutes of my life I will never get back.
