Birding Gear

Six bird bath de-icers compared by wattage, thermostat and cord, from a 44-watt pad to the 250-watt Allied BDT250, plus how to choose and use one safely.

The best bird feeders for winter: roofed, weatherproof, large-capacity hoppers and tube feeders that keep seed dry through snow, from a simple domed feeder to the Squirrel Buster Plus.

The best cameras for bird photography under $1,000 are superzooms. The Nikon COOLPIX P950, Panasonic LUMIX FZ80D and Kodak AZ528 compared on zoom, viewfinder, weight and price, plus the 125x Nikon P1100.

The best spotting scopes for birding: Vortex Diamondback HD, Vanguard Endeavor HD, Celestron Ultima and more, with how to choose zoom, lens size and a tripod.

The best bird feeder poles and baffles: complete feeding stations, top-mount poles for hoppers and birdhouses, heavy-duty poles for camera feeders, and a budget setup that keeps squirrels off.

The best birding binoculars from $200 to $500: Vortex Diamondback HD, Athlon Midas, Nikon Monarch M5 and M7, Zeiss Terra ED and more, compared on close focus, field of view, weight and warranty.

The best winter bird foods (sunflower, suet, peanuts, nyjer, millet), which birds each attracts, what not to feed, and how to set up a winter feeding station.

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Eight bird seed bags worth buying, one to skip, and the two-minute label check that separates real seed from filler. Prices and cost per pound compared.

Six bluebird mealworm feeders ranked by how well they keep starlings and squirrels out, the mealworms to buy, and the three things that make bluebirds find the dish.