Feeder guide by food

Suet Bird Feeder

A suet bird feeder is a wire cage holding a block of rendered fat, and it is the feeder for insect-eating birds — suet is a good choice for attracting them, and woodpeckers, nuthatches and chickadees are its regulars ¹.

Everything below about feeder design, foods, placement and cleaning is drawn from Project FeederWatch ¹² and All About Birds ³.

Two suet cakes in a wire suet bird feeder hanging from a branch — Photo: AVDLCZ, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Which birds come to suet

Downy Woodpeckers, the woodpecker most likely to visit a backyard feeder, prefer suet feeders ⁴. Black-capped Chickadees take suet and peanut butter along with sunflower and peanuts ⁵, and Tufted Titmice take suet, peanuts and other seeds besides their favorite sunflower ⁶. Nuthatches are the other regulars FeederWatch names at suet ¹.

Choosing and placing a suet bird feeder

The standard cage lets starlings monopolize a block; cages that are only accessible from the bottom tend to be starling-resistant while still letting woodpeckers, nuthatches and chickadees feed ¹. Hang it near a tree trunk — woodpeckers approach along wood — but about ten feet from branches squirrels could jump from, with a baffle above ¹.

Plain suet is rendered fat and softens in heat, so in summer many people switch to ‘no-melt’ cakes or pause; in any season, clean the cage every week or two and discard blocks that smell or show mold, since mold is how salmonellosis spreads at feeders ¹².

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

Suet Feeder →

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

What birds come to a suet bird feeder?

Woodpeckers, nuthatches, chickadees and titmice above all — suet is the food for insect-eating birds ¹⁴⁵⁶.

How do I keep starlings and squirrels off suet?

Use a bottom-access-only cage for starlings, and hang it under a baffle ten feet from anything squirrels can jump from ¹.

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.