Stovall 6FP Pavilion Feeder with Perforated Plastic Bottom

This is my 2nd Stovall Pavilion Feeder. The first lasted in the elements almost six years. I opened and closed the lid almost every day to ensure that the seed in the hopper was moving into the clear column shoot. In the end the hinges at the top wore out. My 1st Stovall had the wood bottom, not the perforated plastic bottom. I live in Oregon, and the seed began to stick and get gooey in the bottom unless I cleaned and scraped the bottom fairly frequently. The cleaning and scraping also wore out the screen covers for the holes in the floor, so I had to change those screens a few times a year as well. I got the perforated plastic bottom this time in the hope that it would not need so much cleaning, and so far that appears to be the case. This one is much better for a rainy climate.The only negative was that there was a crack in one side of the roof when the feeder arrived. It happened when the assembler screwed the top down. We had to make sure to fill the crack with wood filler and glue thoroughly, or else the rain would have definitely gotten into the hopper and ruined the feed. Quality control missed the crack before sending, but the rest of the feeder is so well constructed that I think the crack was an aberration.

This feeder replaced one that we have had in place for nearly 20 years. By attaching an extra thickness of wood to the base I was able to mount it on the "floor flange" on the top of the pole that had held the older feeder. We use only black oil sunflower seed and I was able to put enough in the metal bin that keeps the bird fed of a number of days. I think that the smaller birds have better access to the seed on the plastic surface (in this feeder) than they did in the older one.UPDATES:1. Forgetting an older lesson, I mounted the new feeder with the feeder's opening-flap facing into our prevailing wind. In a recent strong wind it blew open. It is best to mount this feeder with the feeding flap facing away from your most common wind direction, if you can.2. I have found that the black oil sunflower seed does not flow easily from the metal hopper into the plastic tube. Perhaps other seed mixtures flow better; I do not know. As it is, When I see the tube is empty, I go to the feeder and jostle the seed in the hopper until the plastic tube is full. Not convenient, but it gets the job done.

This is my second purchase of this model and I have a total of five Stovall feeders now. Two of these, another hopper model, a squirrel feeder, and a suet feeder. The oldest one is over 7-1/2 years old now and has been in the direct Florida sun and weather all that time, and it is still in great shape! When it comes to wooden feeders, I won't buy anything else. I love Stovall!

Great bird feeder, my last one was destroyed by a raccoon. Attracts a variety of birds.

This is extremely well built and one of the nicest feeders of this type I have ever seen. Well worth it.

Check the dimensions - the birdhouse is huge - I did not expect these dimensions. The company does not have a customer's friendly return policy. Think twice before you buy this product