Vic MacBournie 2/13/23 Vic MacBournie 2/13/23

Bird feeders for sale: Cashing in on Kijiji and other on-line sellers

These bird feeders from Wild Birds Unlimited are a good example of the new recycled resin feeders available at a number of locations.

*Nuthatch on Wild Birds Unlimited feeder.*

When it comes to bird feeders for sale, my best deals have come courtesy of on-line purchases.

Sure, there are some good buys from on-line sellers like Amazon, Wayfair and Gardener’s Supply Co., but my best buys are local purchases courtesy of Kijiji, Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace and other local on-line garage sale type sites.

It may take a little more effort to find these items on places like Kijiji and Craigslist and arrange for pickup, but anyone who is starting out in backyard bird feeding and are looking to save a lot of money getting started, would benefit from spending time regularly checking for items on Kijiji, Craigslist, other on-line garage sales and even local thrift stores.

It’s not unlike creating a woodland garden, time and patience is key to your success.

(For more on creating a budget-friendly garden check out my story here.)

If you are looking to set up a bird-feeding station, be sure to check out Setting up a Bird Feeding Station.

My latest Kijiji purchases are two excellent bird feeders – one a top-of-the-line Wild Birds Unlimited recycled plastic hopper feeder in perfect condition and the other a brand new three-tube copper-look feeder still in its original box. Both set me back less than $35 Cdn. – $19 for the Wild Birds Unlimited hopper and $15 for the copper feeder.

New from nature stores or birding stores, these feeders are double and triple the costs you pay on these on-line sites. I’ve even seen entire bird feeding stations with poles, hooks and feeders sell on these on-line sites for pennies on the dollar. I suspect it’s the result of people who try feeding the birds only to find that they are not interested or that the seed on the ground is attracting unwanted critters.

But we know how to deal with that problem. Check out my post for more on keeping mice and rats away from your feeders.

If you are looking to add to your arsenal of bird feeders on a budget, be sure to check out sites like Kijiji and Craig’s List regularly. These on-line sites are to birders, what thrift stores are to home decorators.

The Wild Birds’ Feeder alone, which has a lifetime guarantee, is more than $120 Cdn. brand new and worth every penny.

These are just the latest of a wealth of bird feeders, bird houses and other bird related products available on sites like kijiji that discerning shoppers can purchase at a fraction of the cost of buying new.

This rustic bird house and feeder is one of my favourite purchases on Kijiji — A Carolina wren on top of one of my favourite Kijiji purchases, a rustic bird house and feeder.

I strongly recommend purchasing the recycled resin bird feeders rather than wood ones. Take a moment to check out my full post on Why we should buy recycled resin feeders.

Kijiji, Facebook marketplace and Craigslist are really just on-line garage sales people use to sell items they no longer have a use for anymore. There are others as well. Many neighbourhoods have their own on-line marketplace where similar deals can be found. Local thrift stores are also good places to visit regularly to pick up garden and bird products on a budget.

These are perfect places to cash in on homeowners who, for some reason, have decided that feeding the birds is no longer something they are interested in continuing.

Maybe it’s the mess that bird feeding can create, the critters it may attract, or the expense of purchasing food that mostly goes to feed the local squirrel population that makes the sellers decide that this bird feeding hobby is not for them. Whatever it is, if you are willing to wait and check the listings regularly, there are often lots of choice available for those of us who have committed to feeding the birds.

In just the last year, I have purchased two bird feeders, two screech owl houses, a rustic bird house/feeder and three bird baths from sellers on Kijiji. I could have bought a lot more if I really wanted, but that’s a pretty impressive haul as it is.

In fact, these on-line garage sales are the first place I go whenever I’m looking to make a purchase. Although birding supplies seem to be in abundance, I have picked up everything from a large water pond container, and complete bubbling rock system (including the bubbling rock), to a nice little native White Pine tree from sellers.

Outside of gardening circles, other purchases include ipods, audio equipment, cameras, camera equipment, car parts and a truckload of square-cut blue flagstone that became an integral part of our garden structure.

*A woodpecker at the Wild Birds Unlimited recycled plastic feeder.*

A WBU classic hopper bird feeder for under $20

Back to my latest buy. If you are not familiar with Wild Birds Unlimited recycled plastic hopper feeders, you should definitely check them out. They are among the best feeders you can purchase and there were actually two of these feeders available on Kijiji recently when I looked.

These high-end feeders and similar ones are not impossible to find because of what I wrote earlier about new birding enthusiasts who lose their enthusiasm for one reason or another.

There are many reasons people decide to no longer feed birds. The couple I bought the feeder from told me they were moving and would not have a yard to feed birds any longer.

Without a doubt Wild Birds Unlimited products are among the best available. Products from nature and bird stores tend to be top notch but good buys are available on home made bird houses and bird feeders as well.

To make it even better, the heavy-duty, high-quality feeders made from recycled plastic are actually helping the environment by recycling plastic bottles.

In the words of Wild Birds Unlimited: “Imagine a wood-free bird feeder that actually looks like wood! Our EcoTough® Classic won’t crack, fade or rot and has a lifetime guarantee. The Classic has curved ends so you can see birds feeding on both sides at the same time. Perch drains allow seed to drop out of the feeder for ground-feeding birds to eat, and angled perches let empty seed hulls be blown away by the wind. The removable screen bottom is treated with EcoClean® Antimicrobial Product Protection, providing 24/7 product protection. EcoTough® feeders and houses are environmentally friendly, high quality products that are made from recycled plastic milk jugs. These feeders and houses prevent used milk jugs from making their way into our landfills.

To check out Wild Birds Unlimited feeders go to their website here.

Triple-tube feeder delivers for a variety of birds

Anyone who is a regular Costco shopper knows to grab the deal while you can because it will not likely be there on your next visit.

That’s exactly what happened to me when I passed on a beautiful triple feeder several years ago. On my next visit to Costco, I strolled through the doors – cash in hand and eager to buy – only to discover that model was sold out and replaced by a similar looking feeder, but one that sported only a large, single feeder tube. I bought that one and have used it for years. Unfortunately, it’s beginning to show its age and it’s almost time for a replacement.

So, when I saw the triple tube feeder, still in the original box for a fraction of the cost of the original, I snapped it up.

Who says you can never get a second chance?

The triple-tube feeder really delivers when it comes to attracting a variety of birds.

Unlike the single-tube feeder that can deliver only a single food source, the triple tube can provide, for example, a finch blend, a tube of highly desirable black-oil sunflower and maybe a general no-mess blend. The mix can change depending on the season and, of course, during migration when white prosso millet can be offered in one of the tubes to attract Indigo Buntings.

The result is a greater variety of backyard garden birds.

And isn’t that what it’s all about.

While I get great enjoyment from my bird feeding stations, providing natural food sources to our feathered friends is always the goal we should aspire to in our gardens. I have written a comprehensive post on feeding birds naturally. You can read about it here.

Proven Winners’ Idea Book is 41-pages of gardening inspiration

Proven Winners has put together an outstanding book of inspirational garden ideas that will be sending gardeners everywhere to their local nurseries in search of this year’s winners. Their 2021 Garden Ideas book, whether it’s in printed form or PDF, is one of the best deals on the net these days. Did tell you it’s free. Order it, download it – get inspired.

Budget friendly booklet is ideal for beginners

They say few things in life are free. Don’t tell that to Proven Winners.

The company that prides itself on creating some of the most outstanding hybrid plants and shrubs available have produced their 2021 Gardener’s Idea Book and it’s FREE.

For beginner gardeners on a budget, nothing gets better than that.

The idea book is a treasure trove of garden ideas that range from tips on creating “hot, sunny gardens” to containers aimed at attracting pollinators, and everything in between. The impressive 41-page oversized glossy booklet is full of impressive colour photographs that perfectly illustrate outstanding examples of Proven Winners’ plants and shrubs in real landscapes. The Idea Book is an inspirational journey through professionally designed gardens that is perfect for beginners and veteran gardeners.

Beginner gardeners will appreciate the many designs that are drawn out using a numbered planting scheme, matching the flowers with their placement in containers and in the landscape.

Although the 2021 book and download is exceptional, the experts at Proven Winners have recently released newer versions of their Gardener’s Idea Book.

• Be sure to check out the 2023 Proven Winner’s Gardeners’ Idea Book here.

• You can check out the 2022 version of the Gardener’s Idea Book here – 2022 Gardener’s Idea Book.

The book is more or less an extension of the company’s impressive and informative website you can visit at here.

You should be able to order the printed booklet from their site here.

Looking for more money-saving tips? Check out my in-depth article on building a garden on a budget.

The book starts with an introduction of PW’s annual of the year – Supertunia mini vista Pink Star Petunia described as a starry eyed Supertunia in pink and white.

The Gardener’s Idea Book from Proven Winners is a great resource for gardeners looking to add a punch of colour to their gardens either through containers or in garden beds.

Also in the spot light is their choice for Caladium of the year – an impressive white Caladium with a pink eye and green edge to the leaf aptly named “White Wonder.”

Both are impressive plants that are more than capable of standing alone in a container and still stealing the show. That trait can certainly simplify your container planting.

A feature in the booklet every gardener will appreciate is the series of seven different container plantings all featuring the annual of the year supertunia Pink Star and caladium Heart to Heart White Wonder.

An example of the attention and level of detail Proven Winners has gone to help gardeners create striking containers using their plants.

Container plantings simplified

The series of container plantings feature all the thrills, spills and fills you need to create outstanding containers for just about any part of your garden. The illustrated planting schemes makes finding the plants at your local nursery the most difficult part of recreating the colourful containers.

Not only have Proven Winners provided excellent photographs showing the details of each container planting, they also provide readers with examples of the containers in the landscape.

The booklet then takes a few pages to feature many of their other “plants of the year,” including a sweet little perennial Nepata named Cat’s Pajamas. PW describes it as a “little catmint that packs enormous flower power into a single square foot, blooming for months while delighting passing pollinators.”

There’s a variegated hosta with a nice ruffled edge, a compact, purple Buddleia said to be a “huge draw for monarch and viceroy butterflies.”

And to round out this year’s award winners is a hydrangea, a rose and a shrub.

Part of the appeal of the booklet is PW’s use of well-known garden designers to highlight their many offerings.

Youtuber Laura from Garden Answer is just one of several celebrity gardeners PW uses to promote their outstanding products.

Well-known gardeners lend a hand

Those who are like me and spend too much time on YouTube following their favourite gardeners are likely familiar with Laura of Garden Answer who is, as expected, featured in the first few pages of the booklet.

Laura is a popular Youtube gardening star who is a walking, talking advertisement for Proven Winners with her outstanding gardens that allow viewers to see PW’s many offerings in a garden setting.

Also featured in the booklet is The Garden Guy Norman Winter’s garden design of heat tolerant plants with a focus on a trio of heat tolerant, container plantings with an eye on pollinators. Plants used by the syndicated columnist include a Pink Gomphrena, Lantana, Salvia among others.

Other pages focus on Proven Winners’ plants with stylish foliage, and a real winner for gardeners looking to install a new border. The 10’ X 6’ scalable border, complete with a detailed planting list and roadmap, is scaleable depending on the size of the border.

Gardeners with sunny front yards will especially like the cheery design offered in the booklet along with the sampling of container plants for the front porch.

I particularly liked the spread on the “four season front entrance” feature that pictured four different front landing designs based on seasonal interest. That’s particularly helpful for so many of us struggling to keep the front of our homes looking their best at all times of the year.

There’s more, much more you will want to check out in Proven Winners latest gem.

And did I tell you it’s free.

If you can’t wait for it in the mail, it’s downloadable by going here. And, once you land on this page, you will notice that there are many other Proven Winner PDF documents that are just as well done as the latest little gem for you to download. If you would prefer to just view it online you can go here

And they are all free. But take my advice, order the printed version of this year’s Idea Book from Proven Winners. You won’t be disappointed.