Wingscapes AutoFeeder Review
I recently received the Wingscapes AutoFeeder from the company for review!
The box mentions that this can be used for feeding chickens. I don’t have any chickens so this review is for the wild birds.
My first thought as I unboxed it: it’s huge! Lots of storage for food. It’s 3.5 pounds, and I wondered how my bird feeder stand would handle it when it was filled with food. It can hold a gallon's worth of seed.
It took about five minutes to put together, and that was without looking at instructions (I am the sort that will look at the instructions only once I get stumped.)
All of the parts
You need to supply four AA batteries, which I popped in and set the clock.
I left the AutoFeeder in my living room for a few days, and a couple of times I heard a whirring noise. It turns out there are presets for the auto feeding times and it was running. I was bamboozled as to what the sound was the first few times it went off.
My favorite bird, a Tufted Titmouse, at the AutoFeeder
You can set up to four different times for food dispensing. Right now I have it going off in the early morning, at lunch, and early evening, all with the dispensing run time of 10 seconds. Scheduling feeding times is pretty zippy and easy to do.
The AutoFeeder set up on the deck with a couple of my other feeders
Since some early birds get up before I do, I set the first time-release to go off before the time I get up so their food will be ready for them.
As someone who lives in southeastern Michigan where it can get quite cold and snowy, I am a big fan of setting it up and not having to refill for days. I have several other feeders, but those can quickly be cleaned out by flocks of Starlings and House Sparrows. With the AutoFeeder, there will be at least one source of food that will be replenished every few hours.
A House Finch pair at the AutoFeeder
Speaking of the weather, the skirt bit has been doing a great job at keeping the snow off the food. I had a snow cover for my tray feeder but the squirrels didn’t like it and now it’s gone.
Blue Jay at the AutoFeeder on a snowy day
I did not have any issues with the feeder being too heavy on the bird feeder stand. I have a light birch log on the other side of the stand, so all the weight is pretty much on one side and it’s doing just fine.
If you’re going on vacation - or even just out and about on the town - it's nice that you can continue to feed the birds while you’re away. (Note: it is okay to not feed birds all the time, birds do not depend on feeders for their food. Feeders are supplemental to their diet.)
A Blue Jay checking out the AutoFeeder
It’s also nice that if you like taking photos - like me! - that once you have the feeding times set up, all you need to do is grab your camera right after the food is scheduled. The birds will learn when the food shows up and that makes for good photo opportunities, along with some nice bird watching.
A Common Grackle with his uncommon colors calls from the top of the bird feeder stand
I’ve had quite a few visitors to the feeders. As I type this, an American Tree Sparrow is at the feeder. Other visitors include: Northern Cardinals, House Finches, Black-capped Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, American Goldfinches, Red-winged Blackbirds, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, and Blue Jays.
Red-winged Blackbirds grabbing some food
Overall I am very impressed! The birds are happy, and that makes me happy!