I think that every wildlife photographer that has a backyard bird feeding station has used that area to make pictures of birds.  The logical technique is to make sure there are natural perches near each feeder.  Most birds will stop there first and you will then have the opportunity to make your images in a photogenic fashion with the actual bird feeders and other manmade structures not appearing in your images.   On this particular morning at my Wisconsin residence I decided to use feeders, fences, roofs and anything else that I could find that was in fact manmade.  In every picture that I created, those items were a part of the composition, and a part of the design of the photo.

The images below were made in one 40 minute time period.

Female Northern Cardinal

Male Northern Cardinal

House Finches

Male House Finch

American Robin