Spring is on its way and all our backyard birds are hungry. With daffodils blooming and crocuses beginning to pop their heads out of the soil, we tend to forget that food sources of seeds from autumn plants have long been blown away by winter winds and new growth hasn't yet begun.
There's about 2 acres of wooded land adjacent to my property for the birds, raccoons, possums and the occasional coyote. This area has been left in its natural state, free from lawn mowers, chain saws and weed eaters. It's pretty much as God designed it.
We only have three bird feeders in the woods and two next to the house, but that is enough to keep us on the verge of bankruptcy. Trying to keep wild bird food in our five homemade bird feeders full is not an easy job. It seems as if it is the goal of every bird to do its part to empty the entire feeding station of all of its contents.
I once thought birds really cared about the appearance of their cafeterias, but I've learned that it doesn't make much difference whether it is made of plastic, wood, or aluminum. If you want to feed finches though, you need a tubular Finch feeder because it is designed to hold and distribute those tiny thistle seeds. Almost any other feeder can be made of wood.
When I first had the idea to get something to feed birds, I went to my local bird store to buy a couple of bird feeders. I changed my mind when I saw the prices of the simplest they had to offer. I decided to build my own.
I went to my computer and found pictures of birds happily pecking at bird seed on a very plain looking rectangular piece of wood, with a two inch wall around it to keep all the food from falling to the ground.
The drawback to the platform type of feeder of course, is that the feed is exposed to the weather. Put a wall on each end and a roof over the container and you have a hopper type feeder. Searching on the internet I found blueprints to build one of these, but after reading 5 pages of detailed drawings, I built my own wild bird feeder without even printing the directions.
This type of feeding station wasn't a good idea because the seeds strewn by the birds and fell to the ground made the perfect set up for predators, like my cat Spike. He waited behind a bush and pounced on the ground feeding birds when they flew in to gobble up the treasure that had fallen from the sky.
Now that he's older, he just sits on a step from the deck and watches the birds, no doubt remembering the days of his youth back when they were afraid of him. Now they just go about their business of eating the bounty on the ground without worrying about the threat of annihilation from an old yellow cat.
I went back to the computer and came up with a plan to build a bird feeder with a roof that wasn't complicated. There is never a shortage of building materials because someone in the neighborhood is always tossing something away. I just drive around searching for old fencing left for the trash man. For one feeder it doesn't take a lot of wood or other materials. As for design, there are many free blueprints and instructions on line.
It's all worth it when I'm looking through my kitchen window at Cardinals, Chickadees, Titmice, Wrens and numerous other colorful and cheery friends I welcome on a daily basis.
Bob Alexander is well experienced in outdoor cooking, fishing and leisure living. Bob is also the author and owner of this article. Visit his sites at:
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