Birding Gear: Poles, Baffles and Cameras

The feeder gets the attention, but the pole system decides whether squirrels win, the seed decides which birds bother showing up, and a decent pair of binoculars decides whether you can tell a house finch from a purple finch at thirty feet. This is the gear around the gear.

If you are setting up from scratch, buy in this order: pole system first, seed second, feeder third. It is the reverse of how most people shop, and it is the order that works. A feeder hung from a tree branch is a squirrel feeder regardless of what the box says — the baffle-on-pole setup, placed the right distances from launch points, is the single purchase that determines whether everything else gets a chance. Seed choice then decides your guest list: black-oil sunflower brings the widest range, nyjer brings the finches, and the bargain mixes bring house sparrows and not much else.

Every recommendation in this section follows the same rules as the rest of the site — we name the specific model we would buy, say who it is wrong for, and note where a cheaper option does the same job. Where a product came from our own yard testing, the guide says so; where it did not, we say that too.

• Black Oil Sunflower Bird Seed, and What Each Bird Eats

  Black oil sunflower bird seed does most of the work, safflower beats the bullies, and cheap mixes are mostly filler. Which seed brings which bird, and what to buy.

• Best Bird Feeder Poles and Hangers That Beat Squirrels

  The best bird feeder poles and hangers — pole systems, baffles and the 5-7-9 placement rule that decides whether squirrels reach your feeders.