Right on the logo, Perky-Pet claims to be “No. 1 in Bird Feeders” since its founding in 1958. The Perky-Pet Copper Panorama Bird Feeder is a small, extremely basic but attractive perch-style feeder for small birds. We hung the cylindrical ornament outside our Colorado home to see if we could coax some birds into an early spring snack. Find out what we thought of the setup, design, and overall performance.
Setup: Tool-free setup and easy hanging
The Perky-Pet Copper Panorama Bird Feeder requires no setup, and there’s very minimal packaging to remove—just a tag and a protective foam disc surrounding the hanging wire. The Perky-Pet Copper Panorama Bird Feeder doesn’t come with any hanging hardware, so we had to find somewhere to hook the loop at the end of the wire. A shepherd’s hook is a popular option for hanging bird feeders and can be placed almost anywhere you have open space. Costs vary from about $10-$40 for mass-produced options available in garden and hardware stores. Alternatively, you can do what we did and slide the feeder onto a small, bare tree branch—as long as the diameter is about an inch or less. Hanging plant-style hooks are also an option for suspending the feeder from a deck or a wall. We found that loading seed into the hard plastic central vessel was intuitive: Simply slide the lid up the hanging wire and pour the seed inside. The vessel is wide enough that we didn’t need a special funnel or anything. Take a look at our guide to the best gardening tools available for purchase.
Design: Classy copper finish
The Perky-Pet Copper Panorama Bird Feeder looks sharp. The brushed copper finish gives it a touch of class that many cartoonish, plastic bird feeders are sorely missing. The design is simple and completely devoid of any branding, although Perky-Pet’s timeless logo wouldn’t be offensive if it were included. Upon closer Inspection, we noticed the metal appears to be copper-coated rather than actually copper, but we weren’t surprised considering the price. The seed container plastic is hard and not foggy, giving it the appearance and clarity (but not the fragility) of glass. The copper-coated lid has a locking mechanism to keep it in place (and to keep squirrels from lifting the lid, according to the official production description). Unfortunately, the area where the cable comes out of the lid appears to let in some moisture during precipitation, which then trickles down into the center of the seed container, causing clumping and other problems if ignored. While we didn’t notice any rust during our testing period, many online reviewers have complained that the copper coating doesn’t stand up to moisture and develops rust instead of the attractive patina that real copper gains over time. Additionally, we found that water can pool in the bottom of the seed reservoir, exacerbating seed spoilage and making it a bit of a mess to clean up. Unless you can place this feeder under cover or you live in an incredibly dry climate, moisture will likely be an issue.
Performance: Works well in the right conditions
When dry, birds enjoy the Perky-Pet Copper Panorama Bird Feeder. After hanging and filling with a common seed mix from a local home improvement store, we saw several small birds (mostly house finches and nuthatches) sitting on the perching ring that goes around the base of the feeder. Larger birds didn’t seem interested and instead visited another tray-style feeder close by, possibly because the space between the perching ring and the feed tray on the Perky-Pet is too small for them. Squirrels didn’t plunder the feeder during our testing, so the locking lid seems effective. The gravity-fed seed tray mostly works as advertised, as long as we kept the seed dry and moving, not wet and clumped, as this prevents seed from feeding downward into the tray. The design of the feeding tray didn’t waste much seed—other than what the birds dropped themselves. We figured that a little mess is generally unavoidable when dealing with birds. Take a look at our guide to the best hummingbird feeders you can buy today.
Price: A small premium
The price of the Perky-Pet Copper Panorama Bird Feeder is one of its strongest selling points. Other budget bird feeder options can match its $15-$20 price point, but most aren’t as attractive. For the low price, though, don’t expect long-term durability and performance.
Perky-Pet Copper Panorama Bird Feeder vs. Nature’s Way Hanging Platform Bird Feeder
For around $5 more, you can get the Nature’s Way Hanging Platform Bird Feeder, a different style of feeder with a much different aesthetic. We tested both feeders and found them equally simple to use, but the Nature’s Way construction (insect- and rot-resistant cedar and rust-free hardware) is more resistant to the elements. Additionally, the competitor’s cedar tray style attracts a wider variety of birds and is less likely to spoil seed than the Perky-Pet Copper Panorama. Interested in reading more reviews? Check out our guide to the best bird feeders. The weather resistance issues with the Perky-Pet Copper Panorama are too damning to forgive, especially when you can spend a similar amount on feeders that don’t experience the same leakage issues. The one-year warranty might get you a replacement item, but that won’t change the underlying issues with this product.
