A low tray that drains
Duncraft Open Air Ground Platform Bird Feeder
17 x 11¼ in and 7 in tall, on a metal mesh floor, with perches at the corners; holds 5 lb.
Ground bird feeders
Doves, juncos, sparrows and towhees feed on the ground, and sparrows and towhees rarely land on a hanging feeder at all. Give them a low platform with a floor that drains, such as the Duncraft Open Air Ground Platform, with white millet, cracked corn or sunflower, a short dash from shrubs.
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Room for a crowd
Duncraft Large Ground Platform Bird Feeder
18½ x 15½ in, 6¼ in off the ground on legs that fold away, with a perforated aluminum floor.
Under a hanging feeder
Birds Choice Seed Catcher Platform Feeder, Medium
A 20 x 15.5 in tray with draining screens that catches what falls from above; it goes on a 1 in pole or on legs sold separately.
A commission never decides the picks. How we choose.
7 more feeders
Droll Yankees · Platform feeder
Seed Saver Platform Bird Feeder X-1
- Holds 1 lb
- Comes apart to clean
A covered tray for seed, fruit, suet or mealworms, with a dome you raise for bigger birds.
Keep in mind: Squirrels can reach it: hang it out of jumping range or add a baffle.
Duncraft · Platform feeder
Squirrel Resistant Platform Feeder 4684
- Holds 1.5 lb
- Squirrel-resistant
- Comes apart to clean
A wide platform whose grid slows squirrels down while bigger birds still feed.
Keep in mind: Its grid limits how much seed a squirrel can reach; it does not keep squirrels off. For that, baffle the pole or hang it where a squirrel cannot jump to it.
Birds Choice · Platform feeder
Small Hanging Platform Feeder
A small hanging tray for cardinals, jays, doves and juncos, with a mesh floor that drains.
Keep in mind: An open tray collects droppings: scrape it daily and wash it every week or two.
Duncraft · Platform feeder
Eco-Strong Platform Feeder
- Holds 2 lb
An open tray that brings the most kinds of birds: seed, fruit, nuts or suet on a mesh floor that drains.
Keep in mind: An open tray collects droppings: scrape it daily and wash it every week or two.
Duncraft · Seed tray
Super Seed Tray
- 10½ in tray
Adds a landing tray under a Duncraft tube so cardinals can feed too.
Keep in mind: Fits Duncraft tube feeders, not caged feeders with a caged bottom.
Brome · Platform feeder
BirdsUP Seed Catcher Tray
- Comes apart to clean
Catches what falls from the feeder above and feeds the ground birds on a tray instead.
Keep in mind: Needs Brome’s BirdsUP Single Pole.
Brome · Seed tray
Tube Collection Seed Tray
- Comes apart to clean
Catching the seed a Brome Tube feeder drops, so more birds can feed.
Keep in mind: Fits only Brome’s Tube 100, 150 and 200, not its squirrel-proof feeders.
Who feeds on the ground
Many sparrows and doves prefer a large, flat surface and may never use a raised feeder. Song sparrows, fox sparrows and towhees seldom land on a feeder at all, but they readily pick up the seed that falls below one, Project FeederWatch notes, and a tray close to the ground is the feeder most likely to bring juncos, doves and sparrows. Cardinals and jays feed there too.
What to put out
Seeds are almost all of what a mourning dove eats, and Cornell suggests scattering millet for them on the ground or on a platform; juncos also choose millet over sunflower at feeders. White millet, cracked corn, sunflower hearts and safflower suit all of these birds. Towhees live in brushy edges and come out for fallen seed when the feeder is close to cover.
A low platform or the bare ground
Seed scattered on the ground, or on the top of a picnic table, is the simplest start, but on wet soil it spoils within days. A low platform with a mesh or perforated floor keeps the seed up off the ground and lets rain drain through; the Duncraft 4522’s legs fold so it is easy to bring in. A tray under a hanging feeder catches what falls before it reaches the grass.
Keep it clean and safe
Put out what the birds finish in a day, rake up hulls and old seed, and move the tray a few feet now and then so the ground beneath it does not foul. Birds that feed among droppings pass on diseases such as salmonella: if you see sick birds, take the tray in first. Keep cats indoors, since birds that feed on the ground are the most exposed to them.