How to make your own wood bird feeder. Unusual bird feeders with your own hands from improvised materials

Each of us has seen at least one bird feeder in our life, basically in our subconsciousness an ordinary small house of a plain appearance with some kind of food pops up.

Now let's think about what else you can make a cozy bird house with your own hands? In fact, there are a huge number of options for choosing a material. These can be pieces of plywood or cut out plastic bottles, or juice containers are also used as an option. You can only be limited by your imagination.

good feeder for birds can feed our little birds, but will also harmonize perfectly with your home. The main thing is to add food over time, as the number of flying guests will gradually increase, and with the advent of warm weather, the birds will delight your eye with their presence.

Your only problem will be the process of assembling the feeder, but the result of the work done will pleasantly surprise you.

So, let's take a closer look at how to make an ordinary bird feeder on your own. It is quite possible to make this type of feeder from 17 mm wood - this thickness should be enough. Of course, it is possible to replace the material with moisture-resistant plywood, well, this is already up to your taste.

All that is needed for manufacturing can be taken from a board 25 cm wide and 220 cm long. Make the side walls using the drawings - they indicate the required dimensions.

To install the glass, you can use a milling machine, cutting out several grooves of about 3-4 mm, or use screws to fix the side walls to the ends of the side panels. However, if you resort to the second option, the dimensions of the glass will need to be increased to approximately 16x26 cm.

You can also leave out the plexiglass, but then you will need to add food to the “insatiable birds” constantly. Fasten the components with screws or glue. Be sure to sand the edges of the parts so as not to injure the birds.

The round plank will be used as a perch. For its installation, it is necessary to drill small holes in the edges of the sides - just 10 mm is enough. The right side of the roof and the ridge are connected separately from the other half of the roof, which must be fastened very firmly to the side walls.

Connecting both sides of the cover, take ordinary furniture hinges. After assembly, be sure to paint the feeder and treat with drying oil for wood. When everything is done, open the lid and pour in the required amount of feed.

Due to the presence of a gap between the plexiglass and the bottom, the food will spill out gradually. Also transparent will make it possible to monitor the availability of food, which will be very convenient.

We make a feeder from cardboard boxes

We can make such a feeder from under a box of juice, milk and any other cardboard packaging of sufficient size. If it doesn’t occur to you what your product will look like or if there are difficulties, just enter a request on the Internet for a photo of a bird feeder, there is plenty of material, so you will find a sample for yourself.

So, let's move on to practice. Take a clerical knife and on the front side cut out the necessary hole in your opinion, but enough so that the bird can easily climb inside.

On the underside of the future feeder, make a hole for a perch by attaching thicker cardboard or a perch there. To taste, it can decorate it in any color or in some other way make it attractive to birds.

How to make a simple plastic bottle feeder

Take a bottle and cut two exits from different sides, the shape can be any, but do not cut out the square completely, as you can make a rain cap out of it by simply bending it outward upwards. In places where the plastic was cut, you need to glue the adhesive tape so that the bird does not suffer from sharp ends.

We make two more holes a little lower and insert a stick there, so the birds can sit there and enjoy the food. The last thing you have to do is hang the feeder on the tree with a string.

If you cut the bottle in a vertical position, then you can hang it by the neck, if horizontally, make two more holes on top and insert the rope. That's all.

Good do-it-yourself bird feeder made of pumpkin

The procedure for making a pumpkin feeder is nothing complicated. It is enough to have only a desire and, of course, the pumpkin itself! First of all, take a knife and cut a round hole in the middle of the pumpkin, and another one symmetrically in the back.

Then you will have to get all the contents, you will decide for yourself how to deal with it. In order to have as much light as possible in the feeder, and just to decorate it, you can make additional windows. Cut a small hole and insert toothpicks crosswise.

At the bottom of the pumpkin, you need to make a perch - for this, you just make two holes just below the entrance and insert a stick there, it will serve as a perch. If you are not too lazy, you can decorate the feeder with any decorations to attract the attention of birds. You can hang such a dining room by the tail of a pumpkin, and you can also use a regular rope.

In conclusion, it is worth highlighting that making a feeder is very simple, and most importantly interesting. The rubbish that we want to throw away very often can be reused in this way, one feeder in winter can save dozens of bird lives, and besides, such a decoration will be an excellent decoration for your backyard farm.

Photo of bird feeders

Bird feeders: photo, interesting ideas. The text contains unusual and original solutions that will allow you to create a comfortable and beautiful area for feeding birds in the garden or near the house.

Wood is the most common material for making feeders.

Bird feeder: what should be the design

If you want to ennoble the area near the house, many owners of summer cottages lay paved paths, break flower beds and flower beds, install benches and lanterns. All this creates comfort and coziness for the residents of the house. However, do not forget about the small inhabitants of the garden, for whom, with the advent of winter, it becomes more difficult to get their own food.

Creative saucer and cup feeder

Making a bird feeder with your own hands will not only help the birds overcome this difficult period, but also add a certain charm to the garden. Using simple technologies, you can show your own imagination and create an original feeding house.

Advantages of homemade feeders:

the opportunity to take care of the birds, which are difficult to get their own food;
decorative decoration of the yard;
the opportunity to instill in children a love for the world and birds.

You can easily make a wire feeder for fruit with your own hands

Moreover, such a decision can be implemented not only by owners of private and country houses but also residents of urban apartments.

Is it profitable to buy a ready-made bird feeder: advantages and disadvantages

If you wish, install a standard feeder in the yard, made on professional level, you can order the product from specialists. Experienced craftsmen will independently select high-quality materials and produce a structure using special technologies.

Finished plastic bird feeder

Customers are invited to choose a bird feeder with their favorite design from the picture. Such structures can be of any size and shape. Buying a feeder to order, the consumer can be completely sure that it will meet his wishes and fit perfectly into the exterior of the yard.

Buying ready-made products comes with both advantages and disadvantages. To negative aspects This can be attributed to the high cost of professionally made feeders. In addition, the buyer deprives himself of the joys of the creative process and waiting for the arrival of birds. Therefore, many people prefer to create houses for feeding birds on their own in their yard or at the window.

Hopper-type feeder for simultaneous feeding of two birds

Note! The design of the feeder must be reliable, so it is advisable to select practical and durable materials for its construction that will protect the birds from precipitation and wind.

What requirements should a homemade bird feeder meet?

When choosing a specific design for a homemade feeder, you need to take into account not only the type of birds for which the design will be made, but also other nuances. Birds rely mainly on their eyesight, so the spread of food must be visible to them from afar.

Original feeders using wine bottles

The design of the structure must be such that the grain is not covered with snow and not blown by the wind. High sides and a roof will help to cope with this problem. It is unacceptable for moisture to get on the feed. Otherwise, the grains will become moldy and spoil. It is desirable that protection against chipmunks and squirrels be present. At the same time, the birds should not experience any difficulties when retrieving food.

Drawings of bird feeders, of which there are many on the net, can be successfully used as a visual aid for creating a beautiful design. First of all, you should pay attention to practical and convenient options. The food should not wake up on the ground, otherwise it will attract small predators such as stoats, weasels, ferrets. Their presence poses a direct threat to birds.

Bird feeder made in the form of a mesh flower

If the structure will be used for temporary top dressing in winter, it is better to hang it. Thus, the feeder will attract less sparrows, which are much easier to find food than other birds. Stationary structures are used for constant feeding. In this case, the presence of protection from predators is mandatory. It is desirable that the grain is on a flat area of a sufficiently large size that maintains good stability.

Types of bird feeders: photos and descriptions of designs

The design of homemade feeders is practically unlimited. The main thing is that the design meets the basic requirements of practicality, reliability and safety.

Waffle cups were used to create grain suspensions

Classification of bird feeders by type of design:

suspension;
area;
house;
bunker;
tray;
peeler.

Each of these designs has its own characteristics and is designed for certain types of birds.

A bird feeder can be cast from plaster or clay

Original bird feeders: photo of hanging structures

The suspension structures are very simple. In this case, the food is suspended in a mesh case or on a thread. They are used primarily as feeders for titmouse. Although other species of insectivorous birds, with the exception of woodpeckers, can also use suspensions.

The most common version of top dressing - "antifreeze" - a piece of fat without spices and salt. There are also more nutritious mixtures that are designed for shelling birds. For them, a ball consisting of seeds is suitable. As a fastening component, peanut butter or lard (internal fat) is used.

Beautiful examples of hanging bird feeders

Note! It is not necessary to cast the feed mass into a beautiful shape or a plastic cup and then freeze it. The ball is more comfortable for the birds. So it is much easier for them to cling and they do not have to spend a lot of energy to keep themselves on weight while eating.

A ball consisting of feed mass is most conveniently formed by hand. This must be done in the cold. Fat will harden very quickly, therefore, having formed a ball, it must be hung immediately.

Hanging craft bird feeders can be made with the expectation of certain types of birds. Great tits prefer garlands made from dried berries. They especially like rose hips. The use of peanuts in pods is allowed.

Original wicker basket with nuts for birds

Swing feeders will be the best option for blue titmouse. In this case, it is desirable to hang the balls on elastic and thin branches so that they balance.

Beautiful do-it-yourself bird feeders made in the form of mobiles or movable sculptures look original in the photo. Such designs are able to attract even large tits, which will not conflict with blue tit.

As a feeder, you can use a regular plate, fixed with chains.

Hanging options from cones are suitable for attracting bullfinches, peeling birds and waxwings. To make the feeder visible from afar, you can hang a bright bunch of mountain ash or viburnum on it. It is advisable to use a fertile cone for this. If this is not possible, any with ruffled scales will do. It must be doused with peanut butter. After that, food is placed between the scales and the cone can be hung. Such cones may even appeal to crossbills.

Paper cannot be used to create such structures, however, you can make a beautiful bird feeder with your own hands from a dense base from a toilet paper roll. It is advisable to attach bright pieces of fabric or paper from below that will attract the attention of birds.

creative coconut shell feeder

Convenient bird feeders: photos of tray structures and platforms

Feeders-platforms are a flat plane on which food is placed. The advantage of such designs is that birds can see the presence of food from afar. However, the flat wooden feeder for do-it-yourself birds, there are also disadvantages. Firstly, there are no fences that provide protection from the wind. As a result, the food in large quantities swells and wakes up. Secondly, nothing prevents sparrows from actively using these feeders.

The fact is that sparrows keep in flocks. These sneaky birds, unlike pigeons and crows, can freely enter small feeders and empty them, not giving a chance to other birds, which are much more difficult to get food in winter. To eliminate this possibility, it is desirable to avoid the use of open structures.

An easy way to make a dining room for a bird is to use a wicker basket

Sparrows are very careful. In case of danger, they take off straight from the place steeply upwards. That's why the best option there will be a birdhouse made of cardboard or wood with a steep roof that has more overhangs. It is desirable that the design has low windows that provide birds with access to food. In this case, the sparrows will first have to flutter to the side before flying away, so such feeders are unattractive for them.

Useful advice! In winter, the birds will not interfere with vitamin supplementation. To do this, you can put pear and apple cores with seeds, viburnum berries, elderberries, mountain ash, the fibrous part of a pumpkin with seeds, dried rose hips, and grape seeds into the feeder. It is allowed to use cherry pits from compote.

Feeding trough made of wood on a long leg

For those birds that constantly live on the site, do-it-yourself original feeder for birds of tray type. In front of the tray (a window that provides access to the feed), you can install a perch or a landing pad.

Tray feeders are of two types:

With free access to the mixture.
FROM automatic feeding feed in the tray.

The bird tray can accommodate grain and fruit feed

A bird feeder on a window with automatic feeding is much more practical than bunker structures. In this case, the food practically does not wake up. Tray structures are designed specifically for one type of bird. The possibility of using a feeder for several varieties of birds is allowed. However, to create such a structure, not only the appropriate skills and tools will be required, but also ornithological knowledge.

Feeders-houses: photos of birdhouses and similar structures

Feeding troughs in the form of houses well protect food from snow. Equipping the structure with a roof, you can protect the inside from the wind and sparrows. But a beautiful bird feeder in the form of a house does not provide protection against spillage of food. Therefore, only those birds that are accustomed to feeding will be present on the site. For forest birds, this option is very inconvenient, because they are drawn to human habitation only in cases of crisis and may simply not notice the grains that have woken up on the ground.

Simple wooden feeder house

A design in the form of a house with a sloping roof can be made from a box. If possible, it is desirable to treat such a cardboard feeder with a diluted adhesive. For this, PVA is suitable, which is mixed with water in a ratio of 1: 3 or 1: 5. Supports are made of sticks, which are also attached with glue. If everything is done correctly, such a feeder will last several seasons. The design is nailed to the tree.

A beautiful pitched roof feeder is the best option for strong large birds. These include Nutcrackers, Waxwings, Jays and Pigeons. All of them can safely sit in a row while feeding, so it is better to equip the dining room with a long perch.

The dining house is completed with a hanging bag with goodies

Wood or very dense pre-treated cardboard can be used as a material for manufacturing. The design for large birds should be much larger than for ordinary pichugs. In this case, you need to select drawings of feeders for birds with dimensions that will correspond to them.

Note! A bird feeder from a shoe box is not suitable for feeding large birds. Cardboard in such designs is very thin. Strong birds will break the feeder very quickly during feeding.

Bright elements on the feeder will attract the attention of birds

Practical feeders: photos of bunker structures and hullers

Hopper type designs will be the best option if an anti-sparrow feeder is required. In this case, the feeding area is limited in size, so the entire flock will not be able to accommodate. Sparrows will have no choice but to eat in turn with the company of other birds.

Unusual bunker-type bird feeders can have a different design. It is desirable that the product, designed for small spotted woodpeckers and tits, be equipped with a solid narrow platform. Anti-sparrow variants are much wider and have a roof. Modern materials allow you to create a bunker structure in just 5 minutes.

For the manufacture of feeders, you can use glass vessels - vases, small aquariums, flower pots

To make a bottle feeder with your own hands, you will need a minimum set of tools and materials:

kapron thread;
bottle (PET);
Super glue;
plastic plate;
large needle;
knife and scissors.

Plastic is a very practical and durable material that is not afraid of moisture and frost. This feeder will last for several seasons.

Hopper type feeder can hold a large supply of bird food

Peeler feeders are less popular. They are designed for certain types of birds. In this case, the feed is held with a special metal mesh. The design can be improved by making it combined. For this, the feeder-sheller is combined with a tray option. Due to this, birds of different species can coexist in one area.

How to make bird feeders: the choice of materials for work

Having decided on the type of future design, you need to decide what the feeder will be made of. For these purposes, you can use a variety of materials. Everyone has many of them at home, so you can not only create an original bird feeder with your own hands, but also do it at minimal cost.

To make a feeder from a coffee service, you need to glue the cup to the saucer and fix the structure by the handle

The following materials are commonly used to make a bird canteen:

plastic;
paper and cardboard;
wood;
plywood;
improvised materials (bottles, boxes, milk or juice bags, etc.).

Each of these materials is suitable for creating certain types of structures and has both advantages and disadvantages.

Simple feeders can be made from cardboard cups

Features of bird feeders from plastic bottles and trays

Plastic feeders are the most popular option. This material has many advantages.

Advantages of feeders from plastic bottles and trays:

Material availability.
The transparent walls of the structure allow you to make the food visible from afar.
Ease of processing.
Minimum amount of garbage and waste.
There is no need to use special tools.
High strength and durability.

An affordable and easy way to build a feeder is to use a plastic bottle

Important! The roof of a plastic feeder in the form of a house should be opaque or at least matte. In case of danger, birds may not notice the transparent plane from above and hit it.

A good way to create a small, eye-catching bird feeder out of scrap materials is to use old childhood toys like building blocks. They are made of polyethylene, so it is advisable to use superglue for fixing. Such designs have bright and rich colors, so it will be easy for birds to find food. Polyethylene lends itself well to processing. To cut round holes in the walls, you can use a compass with two needles. Polyethylene is a slippery material, so it is advisable to equip the feeder with a perch.

Bird canteen from a plastic bottle and wooden spoon

as a plastic building material you can use scraps of transparent polycarbonate that could remain after repairs in the house. Such a feeder can be fixed on the window with the help of suction cups from the bathroom shelves.

Bird feeders from bottles and other unusable containers deserve special attention. The main thing is that the design is well thought out. To ensure the visibility of the feed, it is desirable to use a wide tray. The presence of a perch will make feeding birds more convenient. If you take a tray big size and capacious containers, you do not have to often replenish food supplies. As a result, the birds will be less shy.

The design of the feeder is made of a plate and a bottle.

To make a do-it-yourself bird feeder from a plastic bottle, it is advisable to use a trough-shaped tray. In this case, spillage of feed will be negligible. If you bend up the cover of the hatch that provides access to the feed, the feeder will turn out to be anti-sparrow. In this case, the plane that forms at the top can be used to place vitamin supplements.

Features of making homemade feeders out of the box

milk;
kefir;
juice, etc.

A simple and original bird feeder made from juice tetrapack

Despite the fact that these bags are made of cardboard, their walls are covered with a film on both sides. Therefore, laminated feeders are able to withstand one winter.

Small packets left over from juice or milk are ideal as feeders for the following types of birds:

goldfinches;
tits;
granivorous.

Feeders made from milk cartons

In this case, it is imperative to install a perch stick to make it easier for the birds to get food.

Useful advice! To attract a small motley woodpecker to the titmouse feeder, it is enough to fix a wooden circle on the bottom of the valve. So it will be easier for the bird to gain a foothold on the structure.

Feeders made from juice boxes

From large packages, you can make universal canteens for birds. To do this, you need to cut a large opening so that the food can be seen from afar. If the feeder is suspended, it must be pierced with a perch. A construct from a package can be placed in a bush. In this case, the perch is not required, its function will be performed by branches.

Eco-friendly wooden bird feeders

The advantage of wooden feeders is their durability. Most often, such structures are stationary.

Wooden feeder-dining room, made in a modern design

As a protective treatment, you can use:

drying oil;
water-polymer composition;
mixture in the form of diluted PVA glue.

To build a bird feeder made of wood with your own hands, you will definitely need a carpentry tool and skills in handling it. Traditional models look like a house. It is not recommended to make a flat roof on the feeder, since in this case the feed will be exposed to weathering.

The bird feeder is made of logs

Standard design options in the form of a house, with minor changes, can be improved and specialized for a certain type of bird. For example, a gable roof feeder without railings can be used as a public option. If, however, a small crate is built around the perimeter, such a dining room will be to the taste of shelling birds. It quite realistically imitates natural feeding conditions. A similar model with a continuous low fence will achieve an anti-sparrow effect and protect the food from the wind.

A low pitched roof design will also provide protection from forage bloat. Such a feeder will be used by sparrows only as a last resort.

Original bird swings

An alternative option for a suspended structure made of wood is a do-it-yourself plywood bird feeder. To create it, you will also need wooden bars with a section size of 3x3 or 3x4 cm. To avoid the use of lumber, you can make bars from plywood strips by gluing. However, for stationary feeders on poles, it is preferable to use solid wood, since plywood will delaminate in outdoor conditions in a few seasons, regardless of the quality of the protective impregnation.

Useful advice! If birch waterproof sheets are used to build a plywood bird feeder, you can get a reliable and durable construction. This material perfectly tolerates the conditions of street use.

Birdhouse made of corks

Bird feeders from improvised materials

From improvised materials, you can make unusual and original designs, the creation of which can focus on design or functional features.

A cob of corn can be used as a feeder. To do this, a nail is passed through it. This version of the bird feeder from improvised materials can simply be hung or made part of a stationary structure. Corn should be hard, preferably oilseed or fodder varieties. The smaller the grains, the better.

Simple bird feeder design from an egg tray

It is better to refuse the use of table sugar cobs, as they are harmful to birds. Their grains contain a large amount of sugar and starch. The corn feeder is designed for large frugivorous and granivorous birds, as well as hullers.

Ice cream sticks can be used as a building material to create a wooden bird feeder. During the summer season, they can be accumulated in sufficient quantities. To make such a design, you will need a rope and PVA glue. On each side of the feeder, you can install a stick of larger ice cream sticks. Thanks to this, 4 birds can use the dining room at the same time, for example, chickadees or siskins.

Original feeder holder for food from a kitchen whisk

An excellent option would be a wicker basket-shaped feeder with a hanging lid. To create it, you will need paper tubes that can be made from old newspapers. The weaving technology is rather complicated and time-consuming, so not everyone decides to take on the construction of such a feeder, but the result exceeds all expectations. To prevent paper straws from deoxidizing, they must be treated with a protective compound (glue and stain).

A large metal tin can is also suitable for building a feeder. It is suspended on a rope in a horizontal position. To prevent the feed from waking up on the ground, it is necessary to install a small damper. For this, the upper part of the lid, bent in half, is suitable. Be sure to install a perch.

The bird canteen is made from a small tin can.

Important! Regardless of the type of construction, the feeder must be safe. Wooden models must be carefully sanded and all sharp corners rounded off. Metal options can be wrapped with twine, which sits on the glue.

Scientists now unequivocally agree that there are no harmful birds at all. Even from such impudent crooks as gray crows and cormorants, as it turned out, there is still much more benefit than harm. Documented attacks by bearded eagles and lambs against climbers were caused by climbers approaching their nests; a brood is a brood, it must be protected. The second thing experts agree on is that in winter, a bird feeder is needed in residential areas. Many of the smaller and most useful of them do not make regular flights, but undertake feeding migrations in winter. Near human habitation, forage lands remain in abundance longer than in wild nature and when the real cold breaks out with starvation, there will no longer be enough strength for the flight: there will be nothing to profit on the way.

If you characterize the bird in one word, then it will be - movement. There are no and cannot be birds that fall into hibernation or otherwise save their own energy resources when adverse conditions occur: adaptation of the body to flight requires high speed metabolism. If the bird is hungry and/or cold, it becomes more and more anxious, looking for something nutritious to peck at. She does not weaken at the same time until she falls, numb, at the feet of a passerby. Take it to the veterinarians - they may come out. But it’s better, after spending a little work, to build a feeder for the winter with your own hands; almost any household waste or scraps will do for this.

Gardeners, gardeners and summer residents who visit their site in winter will also benefit greatly: even granivorous birds, sparrows, for example, feed insects on the brood. In the spring, just in time for the hatching of the chicks, pests wake up and become more active. If you make a bird feeder in the fall and feed a useful community on the site, see Fig., Much less will be needed for plant protection products. Bird feeders, let it be known to the reader, can be made attractive to some species of birds and not very convenient to others, from which they are less useful. How exactly - this is the focus of this article. Not to the detriment, hopefully, of other aspects of the issue, such as materials, cheaper or completely free, design, etc.

What to be a feeder?

Let's start with a feeder project. Just imagine, because you don’t need to draw it up on paper and roam around the offices with serious uncles and corrosive aunts. But, firstly, you need to know where and why the winter bird canteen will be: in the city, outside the city, for temporary feeding in the very cold, or for permanent attraction of useful helpers. Secondly, who will we feed? Who to skip ahead, and who unobtrusively ask to wait? For example, if others are having a hard time, sparrows, crows, and doves will certainly be killed. They have long become accustomed to humans and will find something to profit from in the most ferocious starvation, and in the country or on the estate there will be more sense from other birds.

Having decided on the "circle of the desired clientele", we will choose the design of the feeder. Birds not only do not eat all the same things, they also take food in different ways: from the ground or a vast, solid, even support, from thick branches, twigs and tree trunks, clinging to them with their claws, from swaying thin twigs and blades of grass; the design of the feeder should provide the advantage of access to the feed for the desired guests. We do not mean birds that take food from the summer, they are all migratory. After that, we will choose the material for the feeder, preferably free, and it will be clear from it how to make it. Such is approximately the PPR (plan for the production of works).

Who will be fed?

As already mentioned, sparrows, pigeons and, especially, crows, must be dared from the feeder. What kind of birds are desirable on it? Of course, wintering in the area. They can be divided into 2 categories: the first - nomadic. They have no specific wintering grounds; where there is enough food, it is good even in winter. At the feeder they will be the most frequent guests. The second ones are obligatory, i.e. obligatory wintering at their permanent feeding stations (areas). Only extreme circumstances can drive them to the feeder: a particularly severe winter, etc. In the Central zone of the Russian Federation and in the south of Siberia, in addition to the ubiquitous stubborn sparrows, the birds depicted in rice fly to the feeder; the list with the names is below it.

nuthatch;
pika;
small spotted woodpecker;
crossbill;
jay;
nutcracker or walnut;
bullfinch;
waxwing;
common grosbeak;
goldfinch;
yellowhammer;
greenfinch;
great tit;
blue titmouse;
crested tit;
Muscovite titmouse;
long-tailed tit;
titmouse.

The first trinity are obligate wintering insectivorous birds. Nuthatch and pika get insects from bark cracks and wood passages with specially adapted beaks. Woodpeckers are known to push their way to prey. At the feeder, you can almost certainly expect only a small spotted woodpecker: it can already be said to have become quite accustomed to people, and with a lack of animal food, it is able to feed on hard seeds. Other woodpeckers (black or yellow, large motley, green, golden or Syrian) will not fly to the feeder for anything, and if a nuthatch and / or pika appeared there, then this winter the birds are generally bad, and high-calorie food with animal fats should be given and proteins; which one - more on that later. All these birds take food by clinging to a support.

Crossbills also overwinter obligately, but feed by husking the seeds of conifers. of cones, these are the most specialized of the shelling birds, and their beak has turned into something like tongs. Even crossbills hatch chicks in the middle of winter, when there are plenty of upturned cones. Taking food from a branch or clinging to a support, in general, they don’t care, as long as it’s not from the ground. Jay with nutcracker are also huskers, but not so skillful. Kedrovka, by the way, can be seen not only in the north; sometimes she undertakes long-distance fodder migrations, during which she reaches Spain.

All shelling birds are very useful for the forest, because. contribute to the spread of trees: the crossbill loses a lot of them, restoring the existing forest, and the jay with the nutcracker arrange storehouses of seeds that are not fully used, or even completely forgotten. Thus, the forest spreads. Forestry specialists are confident that without nutcrackers, maintaining stocks of Siberian pine (Siberian cedar) would be impossible. In addition, jays with nutcrackers destroy a lot of wintering harmful insects.

You can bring shelling birds to the site, but they need a special type of home-made feeders, see below. Peeler feeders are also sold ready-made, but there is nothing in them that you could not do yourself. For crossbills, in case of a bad harvest of cones, they will also fit, however, having fed, they will fly back to the forest.

Note: just in case, let us remind you: insectivorous forest birds and stubblers fly to people for food in the most extreme case, and then they definitely need to be offered nutritious high-calorie food. Along the way, they will thoroughly clean the garden-garden from wintering harmful trifles.

Bullfinch, waxwing, grosbeak and goldfinch are considered predominantly frugivorous birds. This is not a mistake, this is not about flesh, but about juicy fruits and berries. Their bones in the digestive tract of these birds, as a rule, are not digested, but the germination of seeds after such treatment increases. That is, frugivorous birds contribute to the spread of berry bushes and trees. However, frugivorous birds feed chicks with insects, but for now / when there is no harvest, they themselves do not disdain them. Actually, frugivorous birds of middle latitudes can be considered bird-like omnivores, because. Animal feed makes up a large proportion of their diet. Goldfinch in general can consume more insects than vegetable feed. In the extermination of wintering pests, they complement insectivorous and stubblers, because. they, as a rule, do not take prey completely open and motionless, for example. pupae.

It is advisable to introduce frugivorous birds to the site, but with caution. A good bait will be pieces of soft juicy plant food placed on the roof of the feeder: apple cores with seeds, pumpkin, cucumber. However, before putting the bait, you need to take a closer look at those who are eating: if a grosbeak is seen among them, it is better to refuse to bait. In the spring, he pecks out swelling buds and in some places has become a real scourge of gardens and orchards. Later, the grosbeak more than compensates for the damage by destroying huge numbers of May bugs and cabbage caterpillars, but still it is not necessary to promote its excessive reproduction.

Note: sometimes it is advised, as a winter vitamin supplement, to put twigs in the feeder that have stood at home in the water until the buds swell. It is not necessary, like any other seedlings, and even absolutely useful tits, they can learn to “bear oak”. The best vitamin food for birds in winter is apple and pear cores with seeds, fibrous pumpkin core with seeds, viburnum brushes, mountain ash, elderberries, dried rose hips, cherries (can be made from compote) and grape seeds. Read more about feeds below.

Fruit-eating birds take food from the ground and clinging to a support, so that the feeder for them can be anything, except for a swinging suspension, see below. They are stronger and stronger than sparrows, but not so impudent, so tits are not competitors if there is enough food. Most often there are carduelis on the feeder; they are close to becoming obligate hibernating human symbionts. Here it is useful to remember Saint-Exupery: "We are responsible for those whom we have tamed."

Siskins, buntings and greenfinches are granivorous birds. Grass seedlings have nothing to fear from them: they prefer the seeds of wild herbs. The chicks are fed with insects. Food is taken from the ground and from a swinging twig / blade of grass. They are friends with tits, but sparrows need to be discouraged from their feeder: granivorous small, not very strong and non-aggressive birds.

Note: the author is deeply convinced that the old song about the chizhik-pyzhik, who drank vodka on the Fontanka, was composed not only as a mockery of the cadets of some of the elite cadet corps, who wore yellow and black uniforms. In nature, the siskin really does look somewhat drowsy-haughty, like a novice drunk-major who has just grabbed (tipped, grunted, missed, rolled, chilled, overturned, etc., etc.) a stopar or two, see fig. on right. That does not prevent him from being bird-like careful and prudent.

Finally, a swarm of tit birds that only steal wheat from the house that Jack built. In fact, insects are an indispensable and significant part of their diet, and of various sizes. If the great and crested tits are able to cope with locusts, then the long-tailed titmouse is not averse to pecking at aphids with spider mites. The tits have become quite accustomed to people, you don’t need to bring them in, they will fly by themselves. Top dressing in ordinary winter should be given vegetable dry, and in severe frost - highly nutritious, like other insectivores. Then, having missed the winter on the dry land, the titmouse in the spring will take on pests, not allowing them to stretch their mandibles properly, and thus immediately there will be no time for germination with crops. And whoever survives in this beak slaughter will no longer be able to cause significant harm to the crop. Tits can take food from the thinnest twigs fluttered by the wind; they have only one evolutionary step left to learn to take food from the summer. This facilitates the creation of specialized titmouse canteens.

What about sparrows?

Sparrows are useful no less than other granivorous, but they are impudent, sneaky, keep in flocks. And the usual bird feeder, unlike crows and pigeons, is quite suitable for them in size. Sparrows take food mainly from the ground, but they are not afraid from branches either. Therefore, they are able to eat other birds, when feeding is a matter of life and death for them, while the chirping rascals themselves, in the meantime, could somehow hold out somehow. So it is advisable to arrange a winter bird feeder in such a way that sparrows fly to it only if the wind is walking in the goiter.

Here you can use their caution and manner to avoid danger. If you have noticed, the sparrows are running away, starting from a place steeply upwards. Therefore, a feeder with low entrances (windows for birds to feed) and a steep roof with large overhangs is unattractive for sparrows: in order to escape from there, you must first flutter to the side, and this is not sparrow-like. An “anti-robin” feeder can be made according to the pattern of a chicken feeder, the diagram in fig. Let's look at other options next.

Types of feeders

When choosing the type of feeder, in addition to the species composition of the guests, you need to keep in mind the following:

Birds are guided mainly by sight; their hearing is rather weak, and the sense of smell, one might say, is none. Therefore, the food must be visible from afar.
Food must be protected from wind blowing, snowing and eating away by unwanted visitors like squirrels or chipmunks.
It is also advisable to avoid spilling food on the ground, so as not to give "beacons" to small predators. By the way, the most dangerous of them are not cats, domestic and wild, but much more cunning, ferocious and bloodthirsty ferrets, weasels and ermines. There are a lot of them near housing, but they are very good at staying out of sight.
Feeders for temporary feeding in winter are best hung up, so they will attract sparrows less.
Stationary feeders for grafting birds to the site must be placed on poles with protection from predators, see below. Birds flying to feed will recognize the site as their own if they find food on a sufficiently large, even, stable area.

Based on all of the above, and let's see which winter bird feeders are better in which case. Their main types are shown in Fig.:

1 - feeder-suspension. Just food on a string or in a mesh case. A typical blue bird feeder in case of extreme cold. Of other birds, forest insectivores, except for woodpeckers, can visit it. Top dressing - "antifreeze" for tits - just a piece of unsalted fat, pos. 1 next. rice. A more nutritious option, also designed for shellers, is a ball of seed mix (see below), held together with hardened visceral fat (lard) or peanut butter in a vegetable net, pos. 2. However, it is not necessary to pour the feed mass into plastic cups or beautiful shapes and freeze (pos. 6.7), it is difficult for birds to cling and calories from feeding may not compensate for the energy consumption for maintaining themselves by fluttering wings. A ball from the finished mass must be sculpted by hand in the cold; the fat solidifies quickly, and the ball can be hung up immediately.

A hanging feeder can be made for certain types of birds. For example, great tits willingly peck at garlands of dried berries (especially rose hips) or peanut pods, pos. 3, 4. But the blue tit is very fond of swinging, and the balls for them need to be hung on the thinnest and most elastic twigs, or even designed in an original way in the form of mobile sculptures, or mobiles, pos. 5. Great tits will also fly there, but they do not fight with blue titmouse.

For shelling birds, bullfinches and waxwings, hanging top dressing from a cone will be good; for visibility, it’s good to supplement it with a bunch of viburnum or mountain ash, pos. 1 on the next fig.:

If there is no fruiting cone, any disheveled one will do: it is doused with peanut butter (pos. 2), solid food is stuffed between the scales (pos. 3), and hung up. Bird lovers and animal photographers, hanging cone baits since the summer, manage to make even crossbills their regular guests.

A hanging feeder for any birds that feed from a swinging support can be whipped up out of paper. In fact, paper is not a material for winter feeders: sagging, pecking. But a spool from a roll of toilet paper, smeared with the same peanut butter and sprinkled with seeds (see the figure on the right), can save more than one feathered poor fellow right in front of your eyes, and you can make such a feeder in just 5 minutes. The colored tails below are not a whim, they are visible to birds from afar and attract their attention. It is better to make tails red and / or green: for birds, red is berries, and where there is greenery in winter, there is food.

2 - platform. The advantage is that the food is clearly visible. Disadvantages: the snow falls asleep, the wind inflates, a lot of it wakes up down, the sparrows are at home on it.

3 - house. The feed is protected from snow; by choosing the roof structure, the feeder-house can be made windproof and anti-sparrow. But there is still a lot of food waking up, and only birds that are used to feeding will come to dine. Foresters, reaching for housing in an extreme situation, may simply not see what is there, and crash down dead in two steps. A feeder house with a sloping roof can also be whipped up out of the box, as shown in fig. on right. If circumstances allow, then it is advisable to soak the box with three to five times diluted PVA (it is still useful for cardboard feeders), and glue the supports from sticks / twigs. Then the building will be enough for more than one winter. This feeder is nailed to the tree.

Note: the platform feeder can be turned into a house and back as needed (weather, etc.), by attaching a removable roof made of thin hard plastic, see fig. left. PET from cut bottles, sewn with fishing line or stapled with a stapler is well suited, but thin polycarbonate will also work. In the latter case, it is necessary to nail slats with grooves from the sides of the site and push and pull the roof into them.

The feeder house with a shed roof is also convenient for fairly large and strong birds: pigeons, waxwings, jays, nutcrackers. All of them do not mind feeding in a row, so a dining house for them needs to be made with a perch. Material - any suitable, incl. and processed cardboard as a substitute for wood, see below. The feeder for these birds should be larger than for small birds; for approximate dimensions see fig. on right. It is tempting to build something similar quickly from a shoe box, on the sidebar there, but this one will not last long: strong active birds will tear and peck at weak material for a feeding or two.

4 - bunker. Optimal in all respects, including antisparrow. The fact is that sparrows are flocking birds. If the flock does not fit on the feeding area, 1-2 sparrows will not “run into” oatmeal with chickadees either: they will eat in a strange company, but in turn and respecting decency.

Homemade bunker feeders come in different designs, see fig. In the center - a special one for tits and small spotted woodpeckers (hard narrow area, see below). She and the one on the right are anti-sparrow. Modern materials allow the production of such an effective feeder as a bunker in 5 minutes. How is clear from Fig. on right.

Materials - PET bottle, plastic plate, nylon thread, superglue. Tools - scissors, knife, gypsy needle. And this feeder will last more than one winter.

5.6 - tray. The food is not visible well, so these are feeders for familiar and familiar birds. What is better to do in front of the notch, the landing area or the perch-six, depends on the type of feeding; which is more convenient for whom, we will see further in the course of the presentation. They are divided into designs with free access to food (5 in the figure at the beginning of the section) and its automatic supply to the nutrient tray (6 in the same place). The latter are even better than bunkers: the feed practically does not wake up. We will deal with them in more detail later. A pan feeder can be designed to accommodate only one or a few bird species (6), but this requires serious knowledge of ornithology, appropriate tools and skills; specialized tray feeders are commercially available in a fairly wide range.

Note: if the canteen is planned to be publicly accessible, the food in it can be made clearly visible by making the hopper completely or partially transparent from plastic.

7 - specialized feeder-huller for birds of the appropriate type of food. The feed is held in place by a metal mesh. It can be combined with a tray and thus become combined.

Materials and designs

Plastic

The most popular plastic feeders today. There are several reasons: empty, useless plastic containers have nowhere to go, transparent plastic allows you to make food visible from afar, working with plastic is easy, not garbage and can be done at home without special tools. Plastics are durable, racks, bird feeders from them will last for more than one year and can be made of any type.

If you will make a house feeder out of plastic, pos. 1 in Fig., please note that the roof must be matte and generally opaque. Wild birds, of course, are smarter than tame canaries and parrots, but when they see a creeping cat (or, say, the shine of an objective lens), they can hit a transparent one with a fright.

Good small plastic feeders are obtained from toys that have served their purpose: cubes, etc. They are made from polyethylene, so the only reliable way to glue, for example, a roof is instant cyanoacrylate glue (superglue). Feeders are clearly visible, all birds are curious to some extent, so there are no problems with the visibility of food. Round holes in polyethylene are easily cut with a ballerina compass with two needles. Homemade in pos. 2 for complete bird happiness, only perches are missing: polyethylene is slippery.

At pos. 3 and 4 already purchased plastic feeders. Just for your information: the house at pos. 3 costs 180 rubles, and a transparent "firm" in pos. 4 - three times more. But the same feeder can be glued together from scraps of polycarbonate and provided, if you really want a window, with suction cups for bathroom shelves.

Feeders from unusable plastic containers deserve special consideration, see fig. below. Very well thought out design on pos. 1. A wide tray provides good visibility of the feed, and in combination with a perch, it allows all birds to feed. The large capacity of the tray and the corresponding supply of food in it do not require the frequent approach of the breadwinners, which is less frightening for the birds. The trough-shaped form of the tray ensures minimal spillage of feed. The wing hatches bent upwards give an anti-sparrow effect; the platform formed by them on top allows you to put juicy vitamin top dressing.

Feeders on pos. 2 and 3 are focused on tits, goldfinches and granivorous. The main thing in them is a properly arranged dispenser tray, see below. Feeders are simpler for the same tribe, pos. 4 and 5, you can hang if the sparrows are not very annoying. At pos. 4, a container from computer disks went, this is more for a trifle like a siskin, and a food point from a bucket of sour cream (pos. 5) will also feed bullfinches with waxwings.

Feeders from used containers from liquid products can also be attributed to plastic. Milk and kefir bags, however, are cardboard, but they are laminated with a film on both sides, so they will last the winter. Well, bottles and eggplants, they are made of PET. Small milk-juice bags make excellent feeders for tits, goldfinches, granivorous, you just need to insert a perch stick, pos. 1 next. rice. For the same birds, if baklaga is involved, you need to cut openings in the vessel about 6x8 cm, each from 3 sides, not reaching 3-4 cm to the bottom, and bend the valves outward, pos. 2.

If instead of shaky valves, a hard wooden circle is screwed to the bottom of the dishes, then you can count on the visits of the small motley woodpecker. He won’t sit on a blue valve: what kind of woodpecker will he be if he doesn’t grab a tree with his claws?

From large packages, public canteens are obtained, then the openings need to be cut out more so that the food can be seen from afar. In the case when the feeder is suspended in free space, it is also necessary to pierce it with a perch, pos. 4. When placed in a bush as perches for tits, its branches are enough, pos. 5, and sparrows will be uncomfortable here.

Baklaga and tray ...

How to make a feeder from a plastic eggplant and a 0.25-0.5 liter bottle is shown in fig. on right. The hook at the bottom is optional, hanging food can be hung on it, see above. However, for other types of feeders, the bottle dispenser tray may be too large. In this case, it can be glued from cardboard or several layers of paper impregnated with diluted PVA, see next. rice.:

The yellow arrows show the paths of food movement. To make him wake up less, the inner end of the perch stick should reach the rear edge of the tray; Of course, you can pierce the vessel through them. The arrows in the center of the circle give the scale horizontally and vertically, i.e. the letok will be 6 cm in diameter, this is enough for birds no larger than the great tit.

... and a package house

From 2 bags of juice, a good blue-tit house feeder is obtained, see fig. on right. The whole structure is fastened with tubes-straws from the same juice, their protruding ends will be perches. So that the perches do not bend (the corrugation of the straw remains outside), it is advisable to insert thin twigs into the tubes; can be broken off right there on the spot.

Wood

Wooden feeders are good for their durability: impregnated with drying oil, water-polymer emulsion or its substitute in the form of diluted PVA and painted, they serve for years. Therefore, wooden feeders are most often made stationary. Of course, for their manufacture, you will also need a carpentry tool with a separate workplace.

The traditional design of a wooden feeder is a house. A view of the simplest home-made wooden feeder with dimensions is shown in fig. left. However, firstly, such a feeder does not protect the food from weathering, because. the space under the flat roof is blown through. Secondly, by seemingly slightly changing the configuration and proportions of parts, it is possible to specialize the feeder quite strongly. For example, pos. 1 in fig. below is public. Pos. 2 will attract shelling birds: landing on slats protruding to the side and pulling seeds through the crate will give a complete illusion of the usual feeding process. Pos. 3 and 4 - with a weakened blowing of food and a noticeable anti-sparrow effect, for small and larger birds, respectively. Pos. 5 - almost windproof and fundamentally anti-sparrow: retained common sense a sparrow will fly into such a thing only in the most extreme case.

Winter hanging wooden feeders are more convenient and easier to make from plywood and bars of about 30x30 or 30x40 mm. Here you can do without lumber at all by gluing PVA bars from strips of the same plywood. However, stationary feeders on poles will be more durable from solid wood, tk. outdoor plywood, except for expensive waterproof birch, after a season or two begins to delaminate with any impregnation.

For an example in fig. above - a drawing of a country, landscape gardening or forest feeder for all types of birds. A tin tray on a pole not only keeps predators out, but also serves as a sparrow dining room. The lifting liner (it slides freely on the pole) makes cleaning easier and allows birds of one species to feed from their recess while leaving others to others. On a pole under the roof, you can hang nets or cones with food for stubblers, and hanging food for tits can be hung at the corners of the site. Roof for ease of maintenance is removable, on hooks.

wooden special

A hanging analogue of such a feeder, as it is now customary to express it, with a simplified functionality, is shown in fig. on right. The diameter of the floor platforms is about 500 mm. The ledges on the middle platform are convenient for birds looking at the food before starting to eat. In this case, the upper platform is intended for sparrows: these troublemakers will scatter food anyway, so you can do without a side, although it will not hurt.

On fig. below - wooden feeders, bunker and tray, which can be turned into combined, suitable for stubblers. The fact is that in these designs, to improve the visibility of the feed, the bunkers are made with glazed windows. Replacing the glass with a steel mesh with a mesh of about 5x5 mm will enable the stubblers to pull out the seeds while the rest are pecking from the trays or from the site.

How to do without a tree

Wooden feeders look better than plastic homemade ones, they are easier to adapt to the needs of both the bird and the owner. But what to do if there is no woodworking tool or you don’t want to start carpentry in the house with its sawdust and shavings?

A feeder that is not inferior to wood in terms of convenience, appearance and can last at least 3-4 seasons can be made from corrugated cardboard from packing boxes that have become unnecessary. Of course, it will take more time, but all you need from the tool is a pencil, a ruler, a square, a sharp knife, scissors, an awl, PVA glue and a brush for it. The technology is similar to the manufacture of cardboard shelves:

For each part, 2-5 pieces are cut out, depending on the required thickness, of blanks-layers of the same size, but with an internal corrugation oriented alternately along and across, see fig. on right;
Each face is impregnated on one side and the other with a water-polymer emulsion. It is not sold in small packaging, but its full-fledged replacement is PVA diluted with water three to five times. This work must be done on a plastic sheet;
A day later (if the plates were dried at room temperature), the part is glued with PVA in the same order: corrugation along / corrugation across, see the same figure;
The part is dried on a film, while it is also covered with a film on top and pressed down with several books, covering evenly its entire area;
The feeder is assembled on the same PVA glue;
After drying, the end connections are reinforced with studs from toothpicks or pointed matches without heads: the holes for the studs are pricked with an awl from top to bottom, a drop of glue is introduced into each and the stud is immediately pressed in;
Open ends are sealed with strips of plain cardboard or thick paper soaked in diluted PVA;
After 3-4 days of drying, the product can be painted, varnished, openings can be made with plastic, mesh can be attached, etc.

Original feeders

Anyone who undertook to make, wants to do something of their own, unusual and unique. Unusual feeders can be divided into original according to the technique of execution or some functional features and simply beautiful, designer ones. One to the other, of course, is not a hindrance in any way, if only the hands were in place.

The first few, say, technical-functional, are shown in Fig.:

Pos. 1 - special for cultivators, frugivorous and large granivorous. The cob is put on a nail driven through the bottom. It should be noted here that corn should be hard, fodder or oilseed varieties, with smaller grains. Table sugar will harm the birds: there is too much starch and sugar in its grains.

Pos. It does not require 2 comments: over the summer, ice cream sticks have been accumulated, then - PVA, strings, and that's it. If you make a hearth on each side, then 4 siskins or chickadees will be able to feed at once. Pos. 3 woven from paper tubes. The work is difficult and laborious, especially when you consider that they need to be well protected from deoxidation. However, judging by the fact that as many as 3 great tits feed in such a small area and another one is waiting in line, the birds really like this creation.

Finally, pos. 4, from a can. Here it would not hurt to lay a perch from a stick in the braid instead of a slippery cold piece of iron. The manufacturing technology completely allows this: the bank is tied with a rope in the same way that sailors, riggers, or, say, high-altitude fitters, put a mark on the end of the cable, see fig. on right.

If we take decorative feeders, then there are no restrictions on design: bright colors of birds do not scare away, they can easily distinguish a painted cat from a living one, and even peck the image in revenge; Let's just give a few examples in Fig.:

According to the execution technique, it is better to avoid varnished and shiny surfaces, as in pos. 1. It is more difficult for claws to catch on smooth, grains dodge from the beak, and glare cuts sensitive bird eyes.

Pumpkin feeders for wild birds do not fit into any classification, but for birds it is a real paradise: proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins with microelements - all in one and in sufficient quantity for all. Plus, a strong and at the same time supple support under the claws. It is not necessary to make something like a house out of a pumpkin or cut a scarecrow face on it, as in the figure: it is enough to remove a piece of skin from one side to the pulp, and even before spring only the peel will remain from the pumpkin. Perhaps suitable for entertaining crafts.

What to feed wild birds?

It remains to decide what kind of bird food to put in the feeder. The best food for all wintering birds is the seeds of wild grasses, especially burdock. Songbird lovers and ornithologists have been collecting turnip seed since the summer or buying it at pet stores. Further, in order of preference by birds and benefits to them:

Note: if there is an opportunity to buy in a pet store, the so-called. canary seed or budgerigar seed mix is just what any bird in the feeder needs.

Wheat, rye and bread from them should be avoided: the bird's body is not adapted to process excess starch. Black bread is especially dangerous: it causes inflammation of the goiter, which often leads to the death of the bird. Perfectly dry crumbs of white bread can be given to pigeons and fruit-eating birds. The same applies to all cereals that swell strongly during cooking: barley (barley), rice, buckwheat. With corn, as mentioned above, you need to be careful. In general, it must be borne in mind that wild birds are smaller than hens with ducks, and their digestion is unusual for homemade food.

Note: the peel of citrus and tropical fruits - bananas, mangoes, avocados, mangosteens, sapodillas, etc. is a deadly poison for our birds. It's about sugars.

Of the vitamin dressings, the best, as already mentioned, are brushes and bunches of wild berries. In addition to the mentioned mountain ash, viburnum, elderberry, barberry, currant, chokeberry, juniper are willingly pecked. AT southern regions- cotoneaster, berries of "wild grapes" (cissus), boxwood. Bones of table grapes, cherries and cherries from compote, melon and watermelon seeds (not pulp!), cores of apples and pears with seeds, grated raw carrots are also an excellent vitamin top dressing. Whole fruits should not be given: having fed on them, even the most principled tit will not resist the temptation to peck at them in the summer in the garden.

An important component of the bird's diet is mineral supplements and solid inclusions that grind food in the stomach. The most important mineral is calcium. Its source at the feeder is finely crushed eggshells. It must be given without fail if you want the winter eaters to nest right there in the spring. Even birds, like domestic chickens, need sand. It needs to be sprinkled little by little, always river rounded and the smallest.

Fun in the end

So, a certain young man with an active-destructive mindset heard in the winter that black bread and banana peels are deadly for birds. He immediately set to work: he was not too lazy and put together a feeder, dried and finely ground banana peels. Then he forked out for a loaf of "Borodinsky" for 40 rubles. at the then price, crumbled it too. He mixed everything, hung up the feeder, poured bird poison into it.

The next morning, he went, anticipating the "task", to see how many of them were lying dead with swollen goiters. It turned out - not a single one, the food was not touched. Before the unlucky terrorist had time to decide what he should think about this, flocks fell from the surrounding trees and showered Grisha with “business cards”. Separate "cards" merged into a continuous blanket, and a bunch formed on the head. Since then, the poor fellow carefully and cautiously bypasses even flocks of sparrows on the pavement.

We present to your attention several options for interesting bird feeders made. It turns out that the feeder can be easily made from ordinary plastic bottles, all kinds of boxes, wood - there would be a desire. This article will try to awaken this desire in you, thanks to which many birds will be able to comfortably survive the winter.

To begin with, let's take a look at a great many different feeders made from a variety of materials. This will help you decide on the image, choose the option that suits you.

plastic bottle and glass jar

Indeed, with the help of wood, the feeder can be given any look: you can build a mini-castle, you can put an ordinary “dining room” on racks, you can decorate the feeder with intricate carvings, etc. as far as your imagination allows and there are the necessary building materials.

It is very good when children are involved in making - they immediately develop such character traits as caring for their neighbor, love for animals, responsibility, they show an interest in crafting, creating something!

Whatever you make your feeder out of, it is important to know the basic (and mandatory) elements of the feeder:

1. Your feeder must be with a roof - so the food will remain dry and not covered with snow, and it will be easy and simple for the bird to enjoy your treat;
2. Be sure to make the opening of the feeder wide enough, the birds are very shy, especially afraid of enclosed spaces. What if several hungry flyers arrive at once in your “bird dining room” for lunch? It is important to take care of this option;
3. When choosing a material for the feeder, be guided by its strength and moisture resistance: the denser and more moisture-resistant the source material, the longer your feeder will last;
4. The feeder very often turns out to be too light, therefore it reacts to every gust of wind, while grains and crumbs crumble and the birds remain hungry. To cope with this problem, you need to slightly weight the feeder. To do this, lay a piece of plywood, linoleum on its bottom (strictly according to the size of the bottom).

Now you will learn how you can independently make a similar feeder from all kinds of cereals.

This feeder looks great and, at the same time, perfectly copes with its functions! Tree branches adorned with such "decorations" give your garden an aesthetic and exclusive look. So let's get started!

We will need:

All kinds of grains, crumbs, seeds - all raw, as fried ones will only harm small flyers;
Egg;
Oatmeal;
Honey;
Gelatin;
Flour;
Pencil;
Thick cardboard;
Scissors;
Dense kapron thread.

1. Using a pencil and a regular sheet of paper, draw the shape of the future feeder. Hearts, stars, triangles, circles, squares - any geometric shapes will look beautiful;
2. Cut out a paper blank with scissors and attach it to thick cardboard. Circle with a pencil and carefully cut along the contour;
3. Take care of preparing bird food in advance. Pick up unroasted and unsalted grains, all kinds of bread crumbs;
4. Using a needle and a dense nylon thread, make a hole in the cardboard base and thread the thread into it - with its help this “delicacy” will be attached to a tree branch;
5. In order for the grains and crumbs to stick together and attach well to the cardboard base, start preparing natural glue:

2 tbsp. tablespoons of oatmeal (in no case oatmeal);
1 egg;
1 teaspoon of flowing honey;
Flour.

All ingredients are thoroughly mixed in a bowl and left for 30 minutes. for swelling.

6. We apply the prepared adhesive mass to the base;
7. In another container, thoroughly mix all our grains;
8. We dip and roll in the resulting crumb-grain mixture our base coated with “glue”;
9. Ready grain feeders must be put in the refrigerator for several hours - the mass should solidify well and acquire the necessary strength;
10. Hang such delicious “treats” on the branches of trees and watch from afar the feast of birds that have flown in to treat themselves and feast!

Dissolve one sachet of gelatin in warm water;
Pour all kinds of grains into the still warm solution;
Prepare ordinary cookie cutters, put a thread in them and fill with the resulting grain mixture;
Send the molds with the contents to the refrigerator to thicken;
Delicious toys are ready, you can safely hang them on the branches of trees!

Another "quick" option is to get a few old cups, or take ordinary plastic cups, fill to the top with the prepared mixture (on any basis from the proposed ones). After the mixture thickens in the refrigerator, tie the feeder to a tree branch with a ribbon! The quick version is just as good!

An ordinary cardboard box can successfully serve as a dining room for birds! However, it is advisable to pick up boxes covered with a special protective layer, laminate - this way the life of your feeder will increase significantly!

Juice boxes are ideal (they are covered with a special moisture-proof layer inside and out), from small equipment, medium boxes from postal parcels, bright candy boxes. Even shoeboxes will do a great job with the functions of the feeder!

Candy box bird feeder

You will need:
Candy box (3 pcs.)
Two medium nylon twine or two shoelaces.

Insert one edge of the box into the other so that you get a triangle of three candy boxes connected to each other, as shown in the picture:

Pass the cord through the roof of the feeder, with the second cord securely attach your feeder to the tree.

candy box feeder

The feeder is ready, it remains only to fill in delicious grains and crumbs!

Even a child will cope with the manufacture of such a feeder (by the way, do not forget to involve children in this entertaining activity).

You will need:
Juice or milk box;
Long lace;
Knife or scissors.

Take an appropriately sized box and, using scissors or a knife, carefully cut a hole in the side of the box.

Through the top edge of the box, right in the middle, thread the string and fasten the “freshly prepared” feeder to the branch.

Hurry up and fill in the bird food - they have already discovered a new bird feeder and are eagerly waiting for your treat!

If you want to make a large enough feeder. To fit a whole flock of birds in it - take an ordinary postal parcel box! Glue the top carefully with adhesive tape, cut wide holes in the side moans, fix it on a tree - you're done! See what happened:

That's where there is a soul to turn around! There are all sorts of plastic bottles around. various forms and colors! There is a huge opportunity to show your creativity, invention, originality!

Let's take a closer look at the idea of turning an ordinary plastic water bottle into a bird feeder.

We will need:

Knife or scissors;
Plastic bottle with a capacity of 5-6 liters;
Wire;
Bird food.

1. Using a knife or sharp scissors, carefully (so as not to cut yourself) cut a wide hole in a plastic bottle, located slightly above the bottom of the bottle (2-3 cm will be enough);

2. You can make several windows, one on each side.
3. Wrap the neck of the bottle with a strong wire and fasten the other end of the wire to a tree branch;
4. Lay plywood or a piece of linoleum on the bottom of the feeder, with their help we will make our feeder heavier and it will not sway and turn over with every breath of the breeze;
5. Pour in bird food and wait for your invited "guests"!

Plastic bottle feeder with spoons

Let's say that you want to make a small compact plastic feeder, then take a 1.5-2 liter plastic bottle!

You will need the following materials:
1.5-2 liter plastic bottle;
Wire;
Sharp knife or scissors;
Two wooden spoons for coasters;
Bird food.

Step-by-step instruction:
1. Take a plastic bottle with a capacity of 2 liters, measure 15 cm from the bottom of the bottle with a ruler and make a through hole for a wooden spoon at this height in the very center of the bottle;
2. Rise even higher (approximately to the middle of the bottle) and make another through hole for the second spoon. Only at a different angle (perpendicular to existing holes);
3. Insert through the spoon bottle;
4. Enlarge the hole on the wide side of the spoon - the grains will spill out and it will be convenient for the birds to peck them;
5. Pour the bird food into the bottle;
6. Tie the neck of the bottle with wire and attach it securely to the branches of the tree.
The feeder is ready! In a few minutes, birds wishing to treat themselves will visit it.

Another option for a plastic bottle feeder, more simplified:

We use the same materials as for the feeder with spoons. But now we don’t need spoons, but instead prepare electrical tape.

So, in a two-liter bottle we cut a large hole at a height of 5-7 cm from the bottom of the bottle. In order to make it convenient for the birds to sit on the cut edges of the bottle, we paste over the cuts with electrical tape or tape (your choice). We wrap the wire around the neck of the bottle and fasten it to a tree branch. Pour food - you're done!

DIY wooden bird feeder

We have already considered quite a lot of different options for bird feeders, made from all kinds of improvised means and even waste. It will not be right at all if a reliable and durable wooden feeder is left without attention - these are the feeders that hung on the trees in our childhood. It was them who were taught to make us at labor lessons by our Trudoviks!

Recall the manufacturing technology and - for business!

First, let's get creative and draw a little! Armed with a piece of paper and a pencil, draw the feeder you plan to make. Seeing it on paper. Estimate the dimensions of the future bird "dining room". Only after that you can start making the feeder.

As an option - use the ready-made drawings, which are presented at the very beginning of this article. The dimensions are already indicated there, the contours are clearly outlined - you can safely proceed to the next events.

To make a wooden feeder, you will definitely need the following tools:
1. Hacksaw;
2. Hammer;
3. Nails.
Prepare the following materials in advance:
Plywood of the right size;
Bars 2x2 cm;
Thin wooden board for the base of the feeder.

We go strictly by size! Dimensions are shown on the drawing.

1. From thin wooden board(solid) cut out a rectangular base of the desired size;
2. Now go to the plywood sheet and cut out a rectangle of the same size as the base - this plywood sheet will serve as the roof of your feeder;
3. We cut the bar into four parts, and one pair of bars should be 3 cm shorter than the first pair. Thanks to this design, the water will flow smoothly over the roof of the feeder and not stagnate on it - the roof will last much longer!
4. We retreat 1-1.5 cm from each edge of the feeder and nail the racks, first to the base of the feeder. And then we nail the roof to the racks. The front struts should be shorter than the rear;
5. We nail a wire or a strong nylon cord to the middle of the roof and fix the feeder on the tree.
All! The work is done, we pour the food, and admire the fun bird feast! Don't forget to take pictures - the memory will last a lifetime. There will be something to show to the grandchildren and what to make together with them!
In no case do we paint the feeder with paint or varnish - the birds do not tolerate such smells and will not visit the painted feeder with their presence!

What food is good for birds, and what, on the contrary, can harm them?
Feeding birds is a laudable occupation, but it is worth knowing that not all food is suitable for birds to eat! One food can provoke a disease of a gullible and hungry flyer, another can lead to the death of a bird, but the third one will definitely help a bird survive in a cold and hungry press and live until the long-awaited spring!

So, what can not be given to birds for food:

Crumbs from fresh white bread;
crumbs from rye bread;
Skins of bananas and all kinds of citrus fruits;
Cream pies, cakes;
Crisps;
Roasted and salted seeds;
Cereals;
Nuts.

What can and should be treated to birds:

Raw seeds;
Buckwheat, millet, oats, millet;
Crumbs and small pieces of stale white bread;
Dried and cut into pieces fruits (dried fruits);
Titmouse are very fond of small cubes of unsalted lard;
For red-sided bullfinches, put mountain ash, viburnum in the feeder.

A few more photos of the original feeders:

Thanks to your attention and care in the winter, there will be a real chance to survive more birds, which, in turn, will surely thank you later with their songs and “health-improving” work in your garden!

Watch also the video: Do-it-yourself bunker bird feeder in 10 minutes.

In the cold season, it is difficult for birds to find food for themselves, especially when everything is covered with snow around. It often happens that a child needs to make a bird feeder at a labor lesson at school or for some project. If you have never had to do this, then some important tips on how to do everything yourself will not be superfluous.

It is difficult to imagine the world around us without these beautiful creatures, and some of them have wonderful singing. In order for them to please you more often, it is worth understanding the question of how to make a bird feeder.

In addition to the aesthetic pleasure of the sounds they make, it will be very interesting to observe at least a little how they live and behave. This also applies to how they behave with others like them, and how they react to people and even the weather. If you believe folk omens, then the weather can be predicted by the behavior of birds.

Availability of bird food

Despite the fact that the materials can be very different, it is worth considering some interesting points. To begin with, it is worth understanding that we do not make the feeder for ourselves and our pleasure, but for the birds to use it. Therefore, it should not be difficult for them to get to the food that is placed inside.

protection from nature

You may have previously seen photos of homemade feeders that were completely open and looked like a simple shelf hanging from a tree.

So, it's better not to do that. It is better to make the roof a little larger so that rain and snow do not fall on the food, and the sides will not be superfluous so that the wind does not blow this very food.

Feeder material

As for the material, it is better to either immediately choose one that responds well to moisture, or simply additionally treat the parts with a primer, and then either varnish or paint the entire structure.

If you do not pay due attention to this issue, then in fact it may turn out that your feeder will not survive the fall and winter.

The shape and size of the feeders

In terms of the convenience of the design, it would be good to go over the entire area of \u200b\u200bthe feeder with sandpaper to remove all protruding and stabbing chips and the like. It will also be good to round the corners a little so that they do not interfere with the guests.

Placement of the feeder

The most common places for feeders were and are trees and buildings. As for the first option, then you can either hang it or attach it to the base of the plant.

This is also suitable in the case of a human building, because, as in the case of trees, it is enough to attach a feeder at a height of up to two meters, so that it would not be difficult for you to add food and check its condition, and animals like cats do not interfere with birds.

Plywood feeder

If you can’t decide what you can make a bird feeder from, then you just forgot about such a simple material as plywood. You can buy it in almost any building supermarket, despite the fact that for many it can simply fill up at home and lie idle.

Such material is perfect for a variety of feeders, in addition, it will be possible to cover it with paint or varnish without any problems.

Drawings of feeders

It is best to look for ready-made drawings on the Internet, since most often they come with step-by-step instruction describing how to make a feeder from start to finish.

As for size, you need to think about which birds are most found in your area, and even better, roughly imagine what are near your house, or other location of the feeder.

Wooden feeder

A tree is one of the best solutions in this situation, because, with the right approach and processing, such a feeder will last a very long time without losing quality.

Again, you will need a drawing for it, all in order to save a huge amount of time that it can take to create them if you have never had to do this.

In addition, you will need fairly simple tools, including a hammer, sandpaper, hacksaw and nails. With only this and the materials, you can make a simple but high-quality animal feeder, and it does not end with just birds, because squirrels can also be fed.

Creating the simplest wooden feeder from you will require a square piece for the bottom, four slats will go to the sides, two more are needed to support the roof, a few sheets of plywood for the roof and three more slats under its horizontal racks.

All this can be knocked down with nails, you can add glue in some places, then it will be good to cover it all with varnish or paint, and that's it - you can hang it on a tree or mount it in any suitable place.

Juice bag feeder

There are also unusual options for feeders made from improvised materials, which are much more common in yards than those described above. These include a container that can be made from a bag that you have left over from dairy products or juice. You will only need the bag itself, wire or a thick lace and a knife.

First, let's cut out - we need holes from different sides. It is best to do this on the front and back sides. The lower parts of these holes can either be cleaned a little, or simply sealed with plaster or tape.

From above, we will need to make several additional holes through which the structure will be fastened. This is necessary in order to hang our feeder.

When there are the necessary holes, you need to thoroughly wash the bag from traces of juice and let it dry. Next, we glue a patch or adhesive tape on the lower parts of the large holes, and draw a string through the small ones at the top.

It will be best if you attach it either very tightly to the branch or directly to the tree itself, as a very strong wind will easily carry the feeder in all directions. That's all - a fairly simple, but at the same time interesting and funny feeder is ready.

Plastic bottle feeder

A master class that describes how to make a feeder with your own hands cannot be called such, unless you remember this simple form feeders, like those made from ordinary plastic bottles. They are very easy to make, and there may be several options for such feeders. Depending on this, they may differ in their design and manufacturing complexity, although more on that later.

The first type of such a feeder is very similar to those made from simple package from under the juice. They can be placed vertically or horizontally. In any case, you will need to make two large holes on opposite sides of the bottle. They need to be done in such a way that, in its normal position, it was convenient for the birds to get to the food, even if there is not much inside.

The edges of the holes obtained will also not be out of place, at least a little, but processed. After all, the cut plastic can turn out to be very sharp, which is not at all desirable.

If you are more creative person, then you can not completely cut the side faces of the bottle. You can make three cuts: from below, to the left and to the right, after which you simply bend the edge up, and then you can even fix it at a certain level. It can protect food and birds during rain or snow.

It is placed in exactly the same way as the version from the package, while in a horizontal position, and with sufficient food, it will not be shaken by the wind, which can play important role under certain conditions.

In the second case, a bottle or eggplant feeder can be placed vertically. The creation takes place exactly the same as before, only you need to do everything with the expectation of the final position of the feeder. You also need to make holes, while the bottom should not be much lower than the bottom edge of the hole, and it will also be good to seal this edge with tape or tape.

There is a slightly more difficult option. To do this, you will need the same eggplant as before, only a simple bottle is added to it. Holes will be made in the same way, just inside there will be an inverted bottle, from which food will gradually spill out.

It will need to be placed tightly enough inside so that its cut bottom, which acts as a top in this case, reaches the top of the eggplant, through the neck of which the food will be poured.

The bottle will reach the bottom of the main container, and food will spill out of it, but this will happen until the food is at the level with the neck of the bottle.

Thus, the feed will be replenished only when there is much less of it in the feeder itself. This option is great for placement in places where you can not often refill bird food, but are worried that a large pile can simply be poured out or blown away by the wind. Thanks to the additional feed, the whole structure becomes heavier, and therefore it can be safely hung even on a branch.

THE BELL