Seed Buster Seed Catcher Tray - REQUIRES a BirdsUP Single Pole

I like the quality of the construction. The split tray makes it very easy to detach from the pole and dump excess empty seed shells into a plastic bag for the trash. When the upper clamp on the pole is loosened and slid up, the two half trays still stay securely in place so no balancing is necessary. With a slight upward movement of one tray half, it is detached completely from the mount. The tray is large enough to catch about 90% of the seed that birds knock out of the bird feeder that is located above the tray. Now we are not feeding the whole neighborhood of squirrels, mice, turkeys and chipmunks and destroying our lawn below the bird feeder. Enough seed gets past this tray to provide some food for a few local chipmunks. My original pole was 1 3/8 inches in diameter so I had to replace the pole with a one inch diameter pole because I could not think of a way to modify this well-designed tray without destroying most of its benefits. My only wish is that they made a few collars for this tray that would fit several pole sizes, because larger poles are more stable. The one-inch pole that comes in two sections is not that stable, so I had to put a fence stake next to it to secure it. I would recommend this tray without reservations.

I’ve had this for a couple of years. It greatly expands the feeding area for more birds. I always feed sunflower seeds and this prevents the mess of hulls on the ground that get thrown out by the birds. Although it does have holes for drainage I still clean wet seed out after a rain and at least once a week when there is no rain. It comes apart easily by removing a plastic collar that holds the two halves together on the top. Paired with a torpedo baffle and nothing to jump from, no squirrels get in it. Great addition for feeding a large variety of foods. It’s pricey but if anything happened to I’d buy another one.

I'm so sad this did not work for me but it's a wonderful product. I have a shepherd's hook from my bird feeder and the curve on the hook is too tight to put the mounting piece over it, won't curve around the hook, so cannot use. It would be wonderful if the piece itself snapped in half one on each side of the pole but you have to feed the entire mounting piece onto it through the hole. Very sad it didn't work for me cuz it's well made and a huge tray which would have stopped the mess.

I mounted this just below my feeders and above the squirrel/raccoon baffle. It works very well. Several birds, including mourning doves, can easily sit in/on it without concern for collapse. It is easy to remove the trays for washing, just loosen the top clamp and slide it up, and remove the trays. You will have to have a way to slide this onto your pole for initial installation, but then it is easy to manage. My only complaint is the price. Nearly $50 seems kind of steep.

We have been enjoying this birdseed catcher for about a week. It was easy to assemble, sturdy, attractive, and appealing to neighborhood birds who fly in, perch, and enjoy the seed. Yesterday, it took us just seconds to take it apart and them empty the seed hulls and rinse it out. Re installation was quick and easy. Excellent addition to our feeder. Prevents seed mess. Would make a great gift for any birdwatcher.

This unit works well as a overflow tray to keep some seed off the ground. Keep in mind that it has holes in it to allow rain water to drain. Some small seed particles will fall through these holes and still get to the ground or deck. I also use mine as a party tray with a little extra seed, nuts, and peanuts purposely placed in it for the dove, blue jays, and other larger birds. Sometimes there will be almost a dozen birds sitting on or in it eating up the goodies.

Love these trays! I have 2 stacked on 2 different 1” actual diameter poles. Just understand that pipe called 1” sold for plumbing and electrical are actually larger than 1” external and don’t work with these trays. So far the squirrels have not figured out how to access them as they are quite large diameter. For the winter I am flipping the top tray upside down as a roof for the lower tray. So many birds visiting and eating now. I find the trays to be sturdy and heavy snow load doesn’t bend them.

Overall this is a good product. Reading reviews on other products, this seems to be the one to get as it is more durable than pretty much any other option. Where it could use some change is on losing seeds. First the drain holes are larger than I'd prefer. Perhaps more holes but smaller would be best. Also the two halves of the catcher don't line up very well. There is an 1/8" gap between the two halves running down the center. Perhaps if one had a lip that went over the other side, it would be an easy fix. Even better, they could design it so that the left side of each had a lip that covered the other side. That way both parts would be identical, and they'd have no extra inventory for an upper and lower half. To close the gap on mine I used two small paper clamps to hold them together. They do fine, but I wish they weren't needed. I expect they'll rust over time. Here is an example of what I used: https://www.amazon.com/Hongri-Binder-Clips-Paper-Clamps/dp/B092LV2J1M/ref=sr_1_5?crid=374NI65JLN39R&keywords=paper+clamps+small&qid=1671458255&sprefix=paper+clamps+small%2Caps%2C127&sr=8-5 Also I've read in other reviews that some people were disappointed that they had problems with this because they didn't have a 1" pole. I was able to use this with a 5/8" pole I got on Amazon. If you're interested, give this a try: First you need some 3/4" pex pipe and some duct tape. I had some scrap pipe so I was lucky. You need just 5" of pipe to make this work. If you don't have any, maybe a neighbor does. 1) Cut a 2" piece of pex and a 3" piece. That is all you'll need. 2) Then decide where you want the bottom of the tray to be on your pipe. 3) Put one "single" wrap of duct tape on the pipe. Now if you slide the 2" piece of pex onto where that tape is you'll have a nice snug fit. If you want it more snug, add just one more single wrap. I used two and its really tight. In fact I had to use pliers to get the pipe over the tape. 4) Now you can attach the lower bracket/knob of the tray onto the pex pipe. Screw it down, to get it snug. 5) Place the remaining 3" piece of pex onto the pipe above the piece you just put on. You don't need the tape on the upper pipe as the lower piece will hold everything. This upper piece of pex is just there as a spacer so the upper bracket/knob has something it can hold on to. 6) Put the tray parts into the lower bracket. Put the upper knob/bracket on and tighten it up. 7) You're done. It may be that the 1"pipe could be more sturdy, but if all you have is a 5/8 base this will work just fine. It does for me. Hope this helps.

I no longer have an unhealthy and soggy mess of wasted bird seed on the ground to clear up. The ground feeders seem happier to eat off this than off the ground. Very simple to clean. It is large but I don't think it is too big. Seems to drain rainwater very well. Also using it as an additional feeder for mealworms. It is quite expensive for what it is, however it does the job perfectly. Birds seem to approve too.

We have a cylinder feeder on a poll. We learned that birds are sloppy eaters and a lot of seed was falling to the ground that against snow made the setup look very messy. This tray has been perfect at catching most seeds from the feeder. It’s also quite sturdy so birds are able to land on it and feed from it. The mounting is universal as long as the pole is no bigger that 1 inch in diameter. While appearing pricey it is well constructed so it should last for many years. The only complainer will be the squirrels who will find far less food at the base of the feeder.

Great idea.

Love to feed the birds but they just toss the seed out and it all ends up on the ground. This stops 80-90% of it from landing on the ground and they eat the seed from the tray. Very sturdy and I've seen at least 8 sparrows at a time on the tray.

For reasons of sheer size I had to return this item along with that the pole it was hoped for would have had to have been dismantled to attach the product. Shrubs and trees are adjacent to the feeding pole so this just simply wouldn't have fit even if it was a half moon only, it is enormous and I feel far larger than it need be for the average garden!