Customer Reviews

Perky-Pet 389 Copper Sip and Seed Wild Bird Feeder

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This feeder/waterer combo is by far the prettiest I have seen in a long time. The metal cap, base and hanger are a pretty copper color and the thick glass "silos" are stunning. Because of the thickness of the glass, the entire thing is quite weighty and substantial.

You fill each silo with seed and water by removing it from the hanger, turning it upside down and unscrewing the silo from the base and then filling. It doesn't hold a lot of seed or water, so I suspect I will have to refill often. Still, that isn't a huge drawback for me considering how beautiful it is.

The major design flaw is that the seed silo has no drainage holes in the bottom! This will definitely lead to soggy/moldy seed in the event of rain. Because of this, the only practical choices are to place it in a covered area, such as a porch or covered patio, or to drill drainage holes in the bottom of the seed silo. Since I wasn't anxious to have bird poop all over my patio, I chose to drill some holes with a small drill bit. It worked OK, although it was tedious trying to do it neatly so that it would be attractive on the outside. After I was done, I put some water in the bottom of the seed silo to make sure it drained quickly and freely and it seems to work fine. Since I live in Texas where we are in the middle of a drought, I haven't had the opportunity to see how it works in a rainstorm. I will update this review if it ever rains!

It's too bad Birdscapes neglected to allow for proper drainage because other than that, I would enthusiastically recommend this Sip and Seed Feeder.

The Birdscapes 389 Copper Sip & Seed Feeder looks GREAT! Too bad it's not copper. It's painted. You notice it right away. Perhaps it won't rust, but upclose it looks a little cheesey. From far it looks fine, but forget about getting a nice patina over time. I put it up right away, very excited to see how it works....well I found out. Apparently, this is made for dry/desert regions where rain is not an issue, becuase it really has no way to drain water away or out of the seed dispenser. It has been raining like crazy here, and all I have a very swollen seeds....with any luck they will germinate (sarcasm). Two stars because it looks great, but that's about it.....oh, I didn't get a lot of bird action before the rain came, but the squirrels were all over it (nothing new)....at least something got fed. So, if rain is a normal weather condition for you, I would pass. If you live in the desert or very low rain area, this probably would do well, and it really does look good....too bad it's not really copper.....It did say Copper Sip & Seed Feeder. I wonder if I can use it just to feed/attract hummingbirds? I will try it and let you know if I get any....if not, it seems like a waste.

This otherwise attractive bird feeder/watering hole has two disappointing flaws, and in my mind they are fatal flaws. First, this product, dispite it's name, is NOT made of copper. I had invisioned a feeder made of copper that would weather to a beautiful torquois color and last forever, but this is made of pot metal and plastic and spray painted to look like copper. To me this is false and deceptive packaging and advertising. If it says copper it darn well better be made of copper or at least plated with copper. Secondly, and more critically, the seed container of this feeder is not protected from the weather. The day after I put it up it rained. When I went out to see if birds were visiting my feeder I found that the reservoir at the base of the feeder was filled with water and the seeds in the container were saturated. Anyone who knows and loves birds recognizes that this is a fatal design flaw for a bird feeder. Birds won't eat soggy seeds, and as they dry there is a strong likelihood that the seeds will develop mold that can be fatal to our feathered friends. A simple and adequate cover and drain wholes in the reservoir would have solved that problem. I cannont recommend this product.

This feeder is quite pretty right out of the box. It also looks lovely hanging in the yard. As others have noted, it is not copper but painted metal and plastic. The feeder tubes are glass. We have quite a few feeders in our yard. We live in a frequently windy and rainy part of the country; we opted to put seed in both tubes since water is everywhere here.

Day One: We decided to put this feeder on one of our "squirrel-slowing" poles as is to see how it would fare without modification. After a rain, the seed was ruined in both tubes within hours. Squirrels had already chewed on the plastic bits.

We took the feeder down and my husband drilled 4 holes in each seed tray to prevent pooling.

Day Two: Cleaned out,new seed, we hung the feeder from a tree on a cable with a pulley. We needed to make some changes to the hooks since their open nature was going to make wind knock down really possible and we didn't want shattered glass all over. So far, so good, well accepted by birds in our region. Getting lots of use.

We live in Wisconsin and really doubt this feeder will survive a year here. I'd be happy to come back and edit this if I am wrong. I believe the drill holes will resolve the water pooling problem and the cable will deter squirrel chewing. Refilling the feeder will require a ladder and it is awkward to refill this feeder as there is no way to set it down...the tubes have no flat surface. It helps to have an assistant. Also, the glass tubes are quite narrow; I had to fill them with a funnel.

My gut reaction to this feeder is that it is really not designed for my region but would be perfect for a desert environment. Wind & rain are not compatable with this feeder as it was manufactured. Right now, it does look lovely in the yard and the birds are using it heavily. I think this feeder is "bird-friendly". I wish it did not have the plastic pieces as they would be completely destroyed by squirrels if hung lower/closer to our deck. The plastic parts in question are also critical to how the feeder works and would not be replaceable.

Bottom line: Very attractive feeder. High maintenance. Will require modification or shelter for use in any area with rain.

6/26/2011 edit and update: This feeder did not survive the first rain here. Even after drilling holes and placing the feeder in a sheltered area, the feed tubes clogged after our first hard rain and no longer delivered seed. We unclogged it, cleaned it out, hung it again and the same thing happened with the next rain. If we made the drill holes any larger, the seed would just pour out. We've taken this feeder down and used the bracket/hanger for other feeders that work in our region.

I love my new bird feeder. It's not only practical and easy to use, it's also stylish and graceful looking. You can see from the Amazon photo that it's design is quite elegant and it's made of sturdy, long-lasting brass. Being brass it will probably tarnish with weather, but that often gives it the antiquated look that is so popular with many people.

Only time will tell if it's a "keeper" for me--a lot depends on its stability on windy days--but for now the birdies like it and that's good enough for me. I enjoy sitting on my patio watching them fluttering around, taking turns feeding. The robins seem to be pretty smart; they never go to the feeder, but are content with what the smaller birds scatter on the ground. And who says birds are dumb with their teensy-weensy brains? Hmmm...

Highly recommended to all nature lovers.

Reviewed by Betty Dravis, June 25, 2011
Author of E-Book "1106 Grand Boulevard" and others

We've had a lot of bird feeders, but my wife remarked after I hung the Birdscapes 389 Copper Sip & Seed Feeder that this is easily the most elegant bird feeder she's ever seen.
I have to agree. The simplicity of the twin silos is most attractive.
The birds seem to think so too. I filled one with sunflower seeds and the other with water and the first bird showed up after only 45 minutes.
Its only shortcoming may be its relatively small capacity for food and water. Once the word gets out in the local bird community, I expect to refill it frequently.
The product makes no claims about being squirrel-proof, which is no big deal because I've come to the conclusion that NOTHING is squirrel proof.
This feeder will be an attractive addition to any back yard or porch and the copper finish goes nicely with almost everything.

On the plus side, this is a really pretty bird feeder. As you can see from the picture, it has two columns, each with a bowl that dispenses food or water. The bottom bowls have a dial that you can set to "closed," "water", or "food", so you can fill both with water, both with seed, or one of each. It's a very attractive feeder, particularly at this price point, and I'm glad to have it in my yard. I'm not sure what magic allows the water column to fill the bowl without pouring out, but somehow it works!

With that said, here's what could be better.

- Contrary to the description, the cap and base aren't copper. The top and the bottom half of the base look like copper plated or copper colored metal -- the inside is shiny and silver-tin colored, while the outside is copper colored. The top half of the basin is copper colored plastic. I'm pretty sure the columns are glass, but not 100% sure.

- As pointed out in the comments to one of the other reviews, the bowls don't have drainage holes, so if your feeder isn't under cover, there's a risk that the seed feeder tray will fill up with rainwater and ruin your seeds. (I've uploaded and captioned a photo with more detail on the bowls). I'm going to try drilling some drainage holes with my smallest bit, and will let you all know how it goes.

Edited 5/28/11: I've drilled 6 holes around the outside of the basin, and will wait to see how well it drains.

This feeder was given to me as a gift from my Amazon wishlist. I hung it from a low branch on a tree in our backyard and it is wonderful.

Function and Design - The feeder was designed to pool liquid since it is a "sip and seed" feeder, so not having drainage holes at the bottom makes sense to me. Our feeder is very busy, so I've never had a problem with pooling and mold. I've used one side for seed and the other with water. Being able to adjust the flow makes using different types of seed easier. It is easy to fill the container, adjust the flow, and hang the silos on the decorative hook.

Materials - I was surprised to find that it is a painted metal finish, one of the best of this kind that I've ever seen as it doesn't look cheap at all. It is always shiny and new looking. The listing does not say it is metal and whatever they used to make this with is durable. It has been dropped on our flagstone patio several times and been through all kinds of weather, yet has held up well.

Overall, I highly recommend this feeder. I love how the silos are balanced on the decorative hook. It really is a nice addition to my garden.

As others have said, this feeder is very attractive, and it makes a nice decorative addition to a backyard. The metal is not true copper, though, which means no patina will develop over time (of course it also means no potentially toxic copper in the seed or water, which probably is one of the main reasons why it wasn't used, not just manufacturer frugality as others have suggested).

When planning to hang this, consider the weight - not only of a double unit, but of the water. Water is much heavier by unit volume than dry seed.

All in all, I think this is a pretty nice unit but you probably have more versatility using a regular freestanding birdbath which can serve larger birds and a de-icing heater (important in cold climates, who wants a feeder filled with a block of ice?).

We put this feeder up on our back patio, and it generally works well to keep the birds fed and hydrated throughout the summer. Of course, with any feeder, you have to deal with squirrels and other animals finding their way to the lip, stealing a lot of the food, and that is no different with this one. We did find that the amount of food stored in the feeder seemed to be a little less than desired, as it gets gobbled up by all the animals we have in our back yard relatively quickly. Other than that, the style is nice, with sturdy glass used to contain the water / food.