Stokes Select Caged Bird Feeder

My best feeder. Squirrels cannot access this feeder. Attractive, keeps cake dry in rainy Pacific Northwest, allows smaller birds like bushtits, chickadees, nuthatches — and Northern Flickers and Downy Woodpeckers can use it in a pinch. I’ve not had sparrows try it probably because I have a tube feeder out as well, so no birds getting caught in mine. I also have a solid squirrel proof (baffled) fly-through feeder for the jays and crows (as well as smaller birds) and a hanging woodpecker feeder on the fence. I put cayenne flavored cakes in that one so squirrels won’t even touch it, once they learn hehe. I also put dried corncobs in a large cheap green wire hook cake feeder hanging from a dwarf maple near that back fence. The squirrels and jays enjoy that and it is fun to make them work for the high-calorie treat. Squirrels like to hang from the tree with back legs and use their arms to work the corn. So funny. Or they try to balance on it and struggle not to fall off as it swings — they don’t get too fat with too much corn like that. I did get a platform squirrel feeder and put it on the back fence to give them an easier go, but I find that they gorge on that, emptying in one day (probably also the “ground squirrels” get to it at night). So I only partially fill it with “critter crunch” on special occasions like holidays and during ice or snow. Don’t want them to become too dependent. Your best strategy is divide and conquer! Keep critter food, big bird food, and small bird food far apart. Keep fruit, corn and nuts away from the house. No fruit vines like kiwi on the house — could attract rats and squirrels to your home. Again, this is a great cake feeder! I’ve been using it for two years. Will buy another if/when this one becomes too ugly. The copper color fades and gets a bit dusty but it still looks better than most feeders. Come to think of it, it is also great protection from hawks and cats. They do stalk my yard because the birds love their treats! Small birds can safely feed inside this feeder. Hope all this helps! Learned after a few years of trial and error. Now, to find a safe solution for robins that won’t get water logged, or pilfered by rats, squirrels, crows and jays! Robins are shy and ground feeders. They like to feed near bird baths and to have the safety of bushes and trees close. If you have cats roaming in the yard they probably won’t come around. We have a neighbor black cat who loves to hang out in my yard like a jungle panther — stalk, pounce, snatch and scamper faster than you can blink an eye. So funny to see his head slowly poke up from a bush like Inspector Clouseau. So sad to sometimes hear the other birds crying desperately when he makes his mark. I guess everyone has to eat. I gave the cat owner reflective breakaway collars ($6 for 6 on Amazon!) and they seem to help if he has one on... Well hope you enjoyed the report from the flower jungle and adjacent small wood...

Totally Squirrel Proof !!! I used suet and not seed, because seed brought mice into the house… very easy to open and close.. very sturdy, I have it up year round in CT and not rusted a bit.. the smaller birds can get into the feeder, which is nice.. the larger birds, especially the beautiful wood peckers gat everything they want without a problem. I did have a raccoon for a while,, he DID unscrew the top and get the suet..🤣. So when he’s around I bring the feeder in at night for a few days.. this is a top quality product.. and priced accordingly.. I HOPE they do NOT change this product! The birds flew away when I took the picture..

Keeps the squirrels at bay, but does restrict some larger bird species. One time only did I find the feeder on the ground and completely opened. I assume a very clever squirrel or possibly raccoon managed to unscrew the hangar, pull off the lid, and consume the suet. I was amazed. I took the precaution of adding a bungee chord to prevent unscrewing the hangar and the feat was not repeated. I have two of these and on one particularly cold morning the hangar screw female end sheared as I unscrewed it to add new suet cakes. It was a clean shear so I used a super adhesive to repair and so far the repair is holding.

I did the modification of adding 3/4” inch wood block on each side of the suet box inside of the feeder. Put a placemat on the bottom so that there was a floor for the birds to stand on. Then I put plastic over the top of the suet cages so the birds don’t get inside and get stuck in the suet area itself. I have Downey woodpeckers that love to go inside and can eat freely without the starlings being able to get in. I have seen a titmouse and a couple chickadees go inside as well. It took some time before they would go inside, but they’re coming around to it. So that’s normal for any new feeder you put up. The feeder works great at keeping starlings out with these modifications they cannot reach the suet. I make my homemade suet, and it’s almost like crack to them it’s crazy, I wish the cage part was larger than the modifications wouldn’t have to come in to play . I am a little worried about the top and the threads getting worn out on the lid but right now it’s new and I haven’t figured out anything different yet. There are some modifications that need to be done for to get a five star but this is the closest thing that I’ve found that keeps the starlings out . I’m glad I bought it. I just wish the company would modify the feeder like the people who reviewed it have asked because that would make it perfect. I came back modified my review and added the photos. I’ve had this up for a while now. I’m very pleased that the Downey woodpecker and his mate can get in there. It took a couple weeks, but the chickadee will go in and the tufted titmouse goes in. I have yet to see a cardinal inside. I’m very pleased with it and I put pictures on, so you could see the Downey inside and leaving with no problem. Also, you could see the modifications that I did. I didn’t add a perch yet which I’m going to do and that may help the cardinal to get in and out of there. Where the suet is located the starlings can’t reach it. It does drive them a little crazy but after a while they give up and leave .

I bought this feeder in Dec 2024, over a year ago. It works great keeping the squirrels out of eating the suet and the suet lasts so much longer now that only the birds are eating it. It’s easy to load and has a nice appearance.

After feeding squirrels by using 2 different suet block feeders, this feeder is terrific. The birds get to the suet with no problem and the squirrels can’t bother the suet or the birds at all. It’s very sturdy and functional!

I have a very small backyard with a walkway between two trees. It's the only place I can put my feeder so I don't have that "magic" seven foot radius around my feeder to stop the squirrels from climbing up the stand or jumping down from the trees to get to the feeder. I've tried everything to deter them but nothing worked. This product is awesome! The squirrels can't touch the suet. The nuthatches figured out how to get to the suet right away and the downy woodpecker took a few minutes to figure it out but once they get in to the inner cage they don't have to figure it out again. I can stop checking my feeder for raiding squirrels now!!

I now have two of these as they prevent grey squirrels getting to the suet cakes, also the only large birds that can get a little are young magpies, do to how the cage is set up and the cakes go in the middle, the young magpie have smaller heads so can get in the first lot of bars to their “shoulders” so can get their beak tip in. But they get very little so I’m fine with that The two blocks last about a week as only the smaller birds can get to them and they love it I have no issues with having to prop up the cakes as some reviews say, as they lean over due to being eaten the birds just adapt. My garden is plagued by crows, magpies and grey squirrels so to impress me feeder have to do the job, this does and I highly recommend even with the price it’s worth it in saving me money on the suet cakes 👍

Keeps starlings out very well. Bluetits, sparrows and other small birds only. Very well made and strong, the only thing lacking is a catch tray for the bits of suet. May need a bit of packing between some thinner suet cakes and the centre cage other wise the little beaks may not reach the whole cake. I just used a bit of scrap ply wood. I have used a large plant pot drip tray secured to the bottom of the feeder with some wire through a couple of small holes in the drip tray. The feeder is in a sheltered spot and so does not collect much rain.The little birds can also pick up some of the bits in the tray.

While I hesitate to call anything "squirrel proof"; so far, this feeder has worked as advertised. It took a little while before my "flock" of wild birds learned to use the feeder. They were a bit reluctant, at first, to get inside the squirrel-barrier cage. Once one brave bird tried it out, it wasn't long before all the little song birds went for it. They have no trouble getting in and out. The only reason I didn't give it a full 5 star rating, is that the cage also keeps out larger birds. *Downy Woodpeckers could probably use it; but, they don't seem at all inclined to try*. Flickers could, perhaps, use their long beak to get some suet; but, that hasn't happened so far. The product description makes it clear that this feeder is for smaller birds -- so, as I said, it is "as advertised". Edit: August 06, 2014 ** Just a few days after I posted this review, a female Downy Woodpecker decided to try out the feeder. She started by pecking through the outer cage, and eventually got right inside. She had no difficulty getting out either. I may have to raise the rating to a "5". If Flickers ever use it, then it gets a "5". Edit: July 07, 2015 I've changed the rating to 5 stars; because a pair of Flickers did figure out how to use this. (This first happened months ago; but I just now recalled that I promised to update this review, if the Flickers could use the feeder.) Naturally, they don't get inside the outer cage; but, they can reach the suet with their long beaks. Also, the squirrels still haven't figured out how to get the suet out.

I bought this to prevent the crows and squirrels from eating all of the suet that I put out for the smaller birds. It does a great job of keeping the crows out, but not the squirrels. I looked out the window the other day and noticed a big tuft of fur wrapped around the inside of the feeder. It turned out to be a squirrel that was small enough to fit through the holes in the outer cage. It was actually pretty hilarious to watch him try to get out of there in a hurry, but he did manage to do it. 😂 I don't think that a really big squirrel would be able to fit through the holes, but it seems that not all squirrels are created equal. Overall this feeder is very strudy and works really well, but I'm taking off a star because of the squirrel factor.