A great idea is to run a wire, about ten feet off the ground, between your house and a nearby tree. Toss the string that's attached to the feeder over the wire, then host your feeder into the air. Tie the string firmly around the trunk. Squirrels will have a hard time trying to raid your feeder. When your feeder is empty, you simple lower it to the ground and add more seed.
Most songbirds eat wild seeds from grasses, flowers and trees.
Don't spend your money, however, on bags of mixed seeds. Different birds peck through a mix, searching for their preferred tidbits. Piles of less-tasty seeds spill on the ground and rot. Instead, offer only one kind of food in your home-made feeder. The black-oil sunflower seed is a favorite among many types of backyard flappers.