Feeder guide by bird

Robin Feeder

A robin feeder is not a seed feeder: American Robins eat invertebrates and fruit, so a low tray of mealworms or cut fruit, a bird bath and a pesticide-free lawn do more than any hopper ⁴.

Everything below about feeder design, foods, placement and cleaning is drawn from Project FeederWatch ¹² and All About Birds ³⁴.

American robin on a lawn — a robin feeder offers fruit and mealworms, not birdseed — Photo: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

What robins eat

Robins eat large numbers of both invertebrates and fruit: earthworms, insects and some snails, especially in spring and summer, and an enormous variety of fruit — chokecherries, hawthorn, dogwood, sumac and juniper berries ⁴. They eat more earthworms in the morning and more fruit later in the day ⁴. Because they forage largely on lawns, they are vulnerable to pesticide poisoning ⁴ — the strongest reason a robin-friendly yard is an unsprayed one.

A robin feeder that actually works

All About Birds notes the species often comes to bird feeders ⁴, but what it comes for is not seed. A ground tray or low platform — trays attract most species of feeder birds ¹ — with mealworms, soaked raisins or cut fruit is the format; fruit-bearing native shrubs are the long-term feeder. Robins also take readily to a nest structure put up well before the breeding season ⁴. Keep any tray clean every week or two, since fruit spoils faster than seed ¹.

Placement, squirrels and windows

Place feeders close to natural cover such as trees or shrubs, which offer birds refuge from predators, but not so close to strong branches that squirrels can jump across — a distance of about 10 feet is the usual guidance ¹. Windows are the other hazard: collisions kill perhaps a billion or more birds a year in North America, and older rules about safe feeder-to-window distances are no longer thought valid — if a window is near a feeder, treat the glass with markings spaced no more than 2 inches apart, external screens or cords, rather than worrying about the distance ³.

Squirrel baffles — barriers placed between squirrels and feeders — are usually the best defense. Squirrels can jump to feeders placed less than ten feet from a tree or building, so a pole-mounted feeder in the open with a baffle below it, or a tilting baffle at least 18 inches in diameter above a hanging feeder, is the arrangement that works ¹.

Keeping the feeder clean and the birds healthy

Clean seed and suet feeders regularly — every week or two, and more often during heavy use or wet weather — by scrubbing off debris and washing the parts thoroughly with warm water and dish soap ¹. Hummingbird feeders need cleaning far more often, every couple of days and ideally every time they are refilled; discard the solution and clean immediately at any sign of cloudy water or black mold ¹.

If a sick bird appears — House Finch eye disease shows as red, swollen, runny or crusty eyes, and avian pox as wart-like growths around the eye, bill, legs and feet — remove the feeders the bird is using for a couple of weeks and clean the feeders and the area thoroughly, so disease is not spread at the feeder ². Salmonellosis, caused by Salmonella bacteria, is a common cause of mortality in feeder birds and spreads the same way ².

Recommended feeder types

Platform Feeder →Ground Feeder →Full bird profile →Plants for this bird →

More feeder guides

Platform Feeder →Hopper Feeder →Tube Feeder →Suet Feeder →Hummingbird Feeder →Window Feeder →Tube vs hopper feeder →Suet vs seed feeder →Black oil sunflower feeder →Squirrel proof bird feeder →No birds at the feeder? →

Frequently asked questions

Will robins use a seed feeder or a robin feeder?

Rarely — their diet is earthworms, insects and fruit. Offer mealworms and fruit on a low tray instead ⁴.

How do I attract robins to my yard?

A pesticide-free lawn, fruiting native shrubs such as dogwood and sumac, water, and a nest shelf put up before spring ⁴.

How often should I clean a bird feeder?

Every week or two for seed and suet feeders, more often in wet weather or heavy use; every couple of days for hummingbird feeders. Scrub, then wash with warm water and dish soap ¹.

How far should a feeder be from a window?

Distance rules are no longer considered valid; instead make any nearby window bird-safe with markings spaced no more than 2 inches apart, exterior screens, or hanging cords ³.