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Home made feeder. (1 Viewer)

longbow

Well-known member
Hey Folks.

Early last spring I posted a thread describing a very effective, reasonably attractive and inexpensive bird feeder I came up with. At the time I had no facility for providing a picture for those who asked. I now have my first digital camera, but am still tech-challenged. Anyone willing to pm me with their email address can have a picture sent to them which they could post here for others to see.

I could then re-post how I did it. It's very simple but actually works better than my store-bought examples and cost me less than five bucks. However, most people probably have the required stuff at home and would hence mean no cash outlay at all.

Cheers,
James
 
I believe you can just attach the photo right onto your message with the paper clip (above, next to the smiley face and arrow pointing left). Go to "Choose File" and select the file from your desktop. Then, hit the upload button. Alternatively, if you have it uploaded to a website (e.g. flikr.com), you can just upload the link. I posted a picture of a medium ground finch female to test my methods :)

Also can you post your bird feeder directions again? Thanks! I have come across a few methods that have worked for me that I have attached below:


Drink Carton
The most popular bird feeder that can easily be is made with a milk or juice carton, popsicle sticks, wooden dowel, metal hanger, and paint. Cut out two openings on opposites sides of the box approximately 1.5 inches from the bottom of the carton. Use wood glue to attach overlapping popsicle sticks (shingles) to the top of the carton. Color the popsicle sticks and cartons with non-toxic paint from your local craft store. For a perch, punch a hole below each opening and slide a wooden dowel through the holes. You can also cut out photos from magazines and with rubber cement, paste them on the carton for decoration. Fill the bottom of the carton with your favorite birdseed, such as black sunflower oil seeds. String a metal hanger near the top of the carton and hang in your favorite tree!

Orange Peel
Another bird feeder involves an orange, which is fun and nutritious. Cut off the top 1/2 of your orange and hollow it out. Punch holes 3 holes about 1 inch from the top and string thin rope through the holes. Hang the orange from a branch and fill with seed!

Pop Bottle
Grab an empty pop bottle. Punch holes near the bottom and slide sticks or large wooden spoons through for perches. The spoons will provide a perch and a place for the seed to roll out onto (at least on one side). Then, poke a few more holes (big enough for the seeds to be eaten but small enough so all the seeds don't flood out) where the birds can pull out the seeds!

Suet
If you are inspired to create bird food, use the following recipe to make your own suet.
1 lb. leftover cooking fat
1 cup of oatmeal,
1/2 cup flour
4 cups wild birdseed (sunflower seeds, safflower, nuts, etc.)
1 cup dried fruit (raisins, etc.).
Warm lard and add ingredients. Place in large cooking pan to solidify. Cut off pieces to put in a suet cake holder!

Bagel
Another neat feeder idea is the "bagel feeder." Grab a stale bagel, some lard, and some birdseed. Smear the lard on the bagel and roll it in birdseed, then hang it from your feeder or a tree. Birds will love all of these ingredients.
 

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James' Bird Feeder

Here is a picture of the bird feeder James made. He'll be sending instructions very soon.
 

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Thanks so much Lisa.

As is probably evident, all this is is a cake pan for the seed holder (at least half pound of sunflower seeds), a piece of maple I cut in the woods and a tin pie plate for the "roof."

One can make the wood bit as long as wanted, this one is about six inches or so.

Just put a hole in the cake pan with a bunch of smaller ones made with an ice pick or whatever so any water which might enter can drain and screw it to the wood with one number 8 or 10 wood screw.

On top put a hole in the pie plate and attach it to the wood with a screw eye and a washer.

That's all there is to it. As I said, most folks probably have all that stuff around the house, I bought mine at the grocery store for under 5 beans all in.

For some reason the birds like this one the best of all my feeders and with the small size of the support post, you get great views of the birds. Mine hangs in the front window right above my desk so I get to look at all my little buddies from about three feet whilst sitting there not getting any work done.

Cheers, hope some find this useful.
 
I made one last night from 2 large flower pot plastic saucers having bought them from a local garden centre.
Hung it up on a branch of tree this morning with birds already using it. :)
 
Home Made Feeder

I like to hear about the feeders improvised from available stuff around the house. I'm going to put out a bagel rolled in seed. Great idea. I like to watch the chickadees and nuthatches cling sideways and swing around.
I tinker in the garage to make the long winters pass. Some of my tinkering is making bird feeders and warm winter roosts from scraps of discarded wood ... stuff like board ends with knots and cracks, tree limbs, a pile of cedar shakes torn off and thrown away (or, my way) thirty years ago. My equipment inventory is a radial arm saw and a hammer that makes dents in every piece of wood that I nail. I intend to return it for one without that flaw.
 

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Looks great James, Planning to try it out.

For some reason the birds like this one the best of all my feeders .

I had made a contraption (it was one) two years ago with a purple child's milk bottle to keep seeds dry and the bottom of a 2L milk bottle for the bird to feed off. Worked a treat, though there were fiddly bits of twine attaching the various parts. Since we moved houses, my wife has banned that model (it was a contraption) and there are no birds around the feeder I bought. I will try out your model.
 
Haven't got around to making the feeder yet James. I am interested in how they are in the snow. Is the top cover sufficiently large to keep out the snow? If not, do the birds dig past the snow to get to the seeds?
 
Top banana that man - I am going to set my kids on the task tomorrow if schools closed again!
They tried the old pop bottle and pencil routine but this one looks very authentic and much more likely to get used :t:

Thanks again James.
 
Hi James

That looks good to me, I will make one this weekend.

The weather in the UK at the moment is grim (not by your standards) but severe for the UK and the birds can do with all the help they can get.

best regards

Merlin
 
Have made mine at last. (Cost < £2.00). Used two sandwich trays from sainsburys (~£1.50) and 4 small screws and 2 larger (1") screws and odds and ends from the tool box (these odds and ends are so useful). Instead of the pole in the centre, I used an empty cylindrical shampoo bottle. Forgot to photograph it before I attached it to the tree. Will post a picture later. Now the wait begins. As there are no birds visiting my other feeder, guess it will be a long one.
 
Mrs Moose would let me have ones from cupboard so she bought me some new cheap ones.
Just made the feeder & hung it up.
 

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