If you’re worried about this slightly bigger all-in-one feeder blocking your view of the birds, worry not!

Most bird species look for food at specific heights, however, so if your balcony or window is several floors up then you might not have much luck. The best bird feeders will encourage these feathered visitors to your garden or patio on a regular basis. Birds need cover, especially smaller birds, so if your feeders are close to bushes and hedgerows then you’ll tempt more of them to stop by in your garden for a snack. If you want to cater to a wide variety of species, the Gardman Ground Feeder Tray is a solid and affordable choice.Window feeder: These box-shaped feeders are attached to glass using strong suction cups and are transparent on all sides.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds knows a thing or two about feeding birds, so you can be sure that this budget-friendly Window Bird Feeder will work a treat. Thrilling as it is for us budding ornithologists to admire them from the comfort of our homes, the birds benefit even more. And thanks to the sturdy steel wire construction, even the most determined adult squirrel won’t be able to break the bars apart. There’s no cage guard on the Heavy Duty Seed Feeder so squirrels could still attempt to jump aboard and steal some seeds, but the sturdy aluminium will prevent them from breaking into it as would inevitably happen with an all-plastic feeder. Some birds prefer to feed higher up, where they have a better vantage point, while others like to forage directly from the ground.

Ground feeder: As the name suggests, these feeding stations are placed on the ground or elevated just above it. That way, the birds can see what’s inside the feeder and bird watchers can enjoy watching them feed through the window. The feeder still has a reasonably slim profile and rotates around with the wind, so you can see just as much as you would be able to with a standard cylindrical feeder. The National Trust’s Apollo Feeder is an affordable, reliable peanut feeding station for small birds that’s suitable for hanging in any garden or patio. Strong, sturdy, and varmint resistant, the Sweeney Automatic Bird Feeder is the most dependable bird feeder on the market!

This Roam Wild feeder sticks to your window by using powerful suction cups, with a valve switch to stick them to the window, so it is unlikely to be blown about by the British weather. This is one of the more affordable options out there but the timber is of good quality and the metal micro mesh is fine enough to stop chunks of food falling through onto the ground beneath. Safety is paramount for birds – when there’s a dangerous predator on the loose, they will find food elsewhere. Crucially, the portholes, perches, lid and base are all made from polished diecast aluminium, meaning squirrels won’t be able to damage them.There is a silver lining to this variable though, in that nuisance birds, such as pigeons, are unlikely to feast themselves at your expense or cause damage to the feeder. With the gaps as small as they are, however, certain larger avian varieties may struggle to access the feed, so keep that in mind when hanging this up outside if there’s a particular breed of feathered friends you’re hoping to attract. Gardman recommends you place it no more than two metres away from cover, such as trees or dense bushes, so that birds can retreat to safety between mouthfuls.