Oriole bird feeder with tapered port access channel and integrated perch
AssigneeWoodstream Corporation
InventorLuke Benjamin Haney
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An Oriole bird feeder having a nectar reservoir with a base and a tapered port, and preferably a tapered port/perch assembly, is provided. The bird feeder allows Orioles and other similarly sized members of the Icterid family of birds to land on the perch and access the nectar in the reservoir base while, due to the diminishing taper of the opening in the tapered port, simultaneously preventing average sized Italian, Carniolan and Caucasian honey bees from entering the reservoir base through the port to obtain the nectar where they subsequently become trapped and perish.
Claims20
An Oriole bird feeder comprising:
- a reservoir for containing nectar;
- a base attached to a lower end of said reservoir, said base including a nectar holding basin in communication with the reservoir with a top cover of said basin having at least one port mounting aperture;
- and
- a port element removably attached to said at least one port mounting aperture, said port element having a generally cylindrical inner wall that defines an access passageway through which a bird can access nectar in the nectar holding basin, a distal end of said port element being pushed through the port mounting aperture to secure the port element to the base;
- said port element being configured to be used as a base mounting element for an auxiliary food dispensing attachment, said auxiliary food dispensing attachment including a food dispensing structure positioned above the top cover of the basin and a connecting element that is received within the access passageway and coupled to the distal end of the port element wall to removably secure the auxiliary food dispensing attachment to the port element.
A bird feeder comprising:
- a reservoir for containing nectar;
- a base attached to a lower end of said reservoir, said base including a nectar holding basin in communication with the reservoir with a top cover of said basin having at least one port mounting aperture;
- and
- a port/perch assembly that includes a port element and an integrated perch, the port element having a body with a central aperture that defines an access passageway through which a bird can access nectar in the nectar holding basin, said port/perch assembly being removably coupled within said port mounting aperture to secure the assembly to the base;
- and
- said port/perch assembly being rotatable within said port mounting aperture between an in-use orientation in which the perch extends outwardly from the base, and a storage orientation in which the perch fits inside an outermost footprint of the base.
A method of assembling and disassembling a bird feeder configured to dispense nectar and other food items comprising the steps of:
- providing a bird feeder having a base that includes a basin with a top cover having a mounting aperture therein;
- mounting a port element to the feeder base by inserting a connecting element part of the port element within the mounting aperture in the top cover of the basin for use of the feeder to dispense nectar, the port element including an access passageway through which a bird can access nectar held within the basin, said port element also being configured to mount an auxiliary food dispensing attachment to said basin through coupling at the auxiliary food dispensing attachment to the port element;
- mounting an auxiliary food dispensing attachment to the port element prior to use of the feeder, the auxiliary food dispensing attachment having a lower end with a connecting element and an upper end with a food dispensing element, the auxiliary food dispensing attachment being mounted by pressing the connecting element into the access passageway to secure the auxiliary food dispensing attachment to the port element;
- and
- when the feeder is to be cleaned, removing the port element from the mounting aperture in the cover of the basin through the application of upward force to pull the port element out or the mounting aperture.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.