Perky-Pet 517282 Copper Panorama Bird Feeder 312C, 1 Tier

Why it's worth it

The Panorama's circular tray and 360-degree perch let birds feed from any angle, so more of them can eat at once than at a flat-sided tube. The wide-mouth opening makes filling and scrubbing simple, and the clear reservoir shows you the seed level from indoors.

The design is the whole argument here. Instead of a few ports on one face, the Panorama has a continuous circular tray with a perch ring around it, so birds land wherever there's space. Owners describe cardinals, chickadees, blue jays and finches feeding side by side. If your goal is watching a lot of activity rather than defeating a specific squirrel, this shape gets you there for a fraction of the Squirrel Buster's cost.

Filling and cleaning are genuinely easy, which matters more than beginners expect. The lid lifts off to expose a wide mouth, so you can pour seed in from a bag without a funnel and get a brush all the way down inside. The reservoir is clear shatter-resistant plastic, so you can see when it's low from your kitchen window instead of walking out to check. One owner has bought this same feeder repeatedly, largely because refilling is so painless.

From our review of 7 bird feeders for beginners, by Genevieve Dubois, Home & Living Expert

What we like

• +The design is the whole argument here
• +Filling and cleaning are genuinely easy, which matters more than beginners expect
• +The powder-coated finish resists rust, and the Sure-Lock cap keeps the lid clamped down so a squirrel can't just flip the top…
• +One honest note on the finish: the copper look is a coating, not solid copper, and at least one owner was disappointed to…

What to know

• –The Sure-Lock cap protects the lid, not the seed
• –Birds don't always take to it immediately