This page sets out how articles on Beakfeeder are researched, written and kept current, and what we will not do. It is here so you can judge the site rather than take its word for anything.
Sources
Every article is researched from American sources, for American yards. Bird feeding guidance is not universal — cleaning intervals, seasonal timing, recommended disinfectants, which feeder types are advised, and which diseases turn up at feeders all differ between countries. Advice written for a British garden can be actively wrong in an American one.
The sources we work from, in rough order of weight:
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, including All About Birds, Project FeederWatch and NestWatch
- The National Audubon Society
- US Fish & Wildlife Service, particularly on the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and which species are protected
- State wildlife and natural resources agencies, which set the guidance that actually applies where you live — bear seasons and feeder restrictions especially
- University extension services
- Independent product testing published by organizations that did the testing themselves
Sources are listed at the foot of each article. If a claim in an article is not traceable to one of them, it should not be there — tell us and we will remove or fix it.
What we do not cite
We do not cite British or European bird organizations, because their guidance is written for a different set of species, a different climate and a different legal framework. Where American guidance differs from what you may have read elsewhere, articles say so explicitly rather than leaving you to wonder which is right.
We also do not treat other affiliate sites as sources of fact. This subject recycles heavily, and several sites agreeing on a specification usually means one site was copied repeatedly. Other sites are occasionally useful for noticing which products people are discussing. Anything factual then gets checked against a manufacturer or an independent source before it appears here.
Products
Rules we hold ourselves to
- We do not claim testing we have not done. You will not find “we tested”, “in our experience” or “we were impressed by” on this site. What you will find is “based on the published specifications” and “independent testing by X found”, which is what is actually true.
- We do not state prices. They change weekly. A page quoting a price is a page that is wrong most of the time.
- We do not invent specifications. Capacity, dimensions, materials and port counts are all checkable against the manufacturer, so we check them there.
- Every recommendation carries a genuine drawback. Not a token one. If a feeder is excellent but heavy, awkward to refill and excludes cardinals, all three appear.
- We recommend types before models. A guide explaining what makes a good tube feeder is still useful in three years. A guide built around five specific products breaks the first time one is discontinued.
Where experts disagree
They do, more often than most sites admit. Feeder cleaning intervals, whether to move a feeder after cleaning, and how much difference feeding makes to wild populations are all genuinely contested. On those questions the article gives both positions and says which organizations hold them, rather than manufacturing certainty that does not exist in the literature.
Regional accuracy
The United States spans Florida to Alaska. Anything involving timing — migration, hummingbird arrival and departure, when nest boxes go up, when bears become active — is broken down by region rather than given as a single national date. A national date on those questions is wrong for most readers.
Legal accuracy
The Migratory Bird Treaty Act protects most native species, including their nests, eggs and feathers, and it is worded more broadly than people expect. House Sparrows, European Starlings and Rock Pigeons are non-native and not protected under it. State law varies considerably on top of that, particularly on relocating wildlife and on feeding restrictions. Articles say where state law governs rather than generalizing from one state to the country.
None of it is legal advice. If a decision has real consequences, check with your state wildlife agency.
Pages with no commercial links
Some articles carry no affiliate links at all, as a standing policy:
- Sick or dying birds at a feeder
- A nestling or fledgling found on the ground
- Birds nesting inside your house or vents
Someone reading one of those has a problem in front of them right now. Attaching a product recommendation to it would be the wrong response.
Commercial independence
Beakfeeder earns commission through the Amazon Associates program. We do not accept payment for reviews, sponsored posts, guest posts or link placements, and no manufacturer has any say in what appears here. Nothing gets recommended because it pays more. The affiliate disclosure page has the full detail.
Corrections and updates
Each article shows an updated date at the top. When an article changes materially — new guidance from Cornell Lab, a change in state regulations, a correction — that date moves and the change is reflected in the text rather than bolted on as a note at the bottom.
If you find an error, please tell us. Corrections are made promptly and without argument. Disease guidance in particular has shifted more than once in the last decade, and a page written in good faith two years ago can quietly become out of date.