DIY Bird Feeders Installed @ Station South

If you scanned our display of bird feeders at Station South, you’re in time for National Bird Feeding Month. Natural food is scarce in February, so please find instructions to make these quick and easy bird feeders at home and help our feathered friends stay fed.

 

List of Easy DIY Bird Feeders

1. Paper Plate Bird Feeder

You can follow the instructions HERE. (by With Love Ima)

My thoughts: This was probably the easiest bird feeder to make; it took me 2 minutes per feeder.  If you don’t have paper plates at home, you can replace them with food cartons or takeaway tubs.  Just make sure you cut the container shallow so birds can reach the food.  In Ima’s tutorial, her kids decorated the feeder with beads and cryon drawings, which made it look fancier.

 

2. Duct Tape Bird Feeder

You can follow the instructions HERE or YouTube (by Jen @ Honestly Modern)

My thoughts: The benefit of using duct tape is that it is waterproof and should last longer outdoors. The rest of the materials used in the tutorial can be easily substituted.  For example, you can use virtually any food container as long as you cut it shallow enough for birds to dip into.  I didn’t have any wooden skewers in the kitchen, so I just used sticks from the garden, which worked out fine.  One tip worth noting is that you need a good-quality hole punch.  Mine was basic and didn’t fit over the multiple layers of duct tape.

 

3. Hanging Basket Bird Feeder

You can follow the instructions HERE (by Molly @ Just a Little Creativity)

My thoughts: As long as you have an old side plate and an unused hanging basket, this bird feeder will take 3 mins to make.  In Molly’s tutorial, she spray-painted her basket white and added jewels to make the feeder look nice.  I left this part out to speed up the process and remove the need for materials that most people do not have at home.  However, Im sure kids would enjoy jazzing up the hanging basket so you might want to spend a bit of extra time on this part.

 

4. Melon Bird Feeder

You can follow the instructions HERE (by @ The Gingerbread House)

My thoughts: In Jenny’s tutorial, she used a pumpkin to make the bird feeder, but I couldn’t find a pumpkin, so I used a Melon.  You could replace the melon or pumpkin with any fruit or veg that can be hollowed out, like marrow, squash or oranges (see below). This bird feeder is messy to make with kids, but that might add to the fun.

 

5. Ice Cream Cone Bird Feeder

You can follow the instructions HERE (by Mamma Lew)

My thoughts: These bird feeders were messy to make due to the peanut butter getting everywhere, but I expect this will be a lot of fun for the kids.  Even with peanut butter mayhem, these bird feeders only take 5 mins each to make.  Don’t make the mistake of using natural peanut butter, as I did.  It’s a lot more sloppy and difficult to stick to the cones.  Get a thick supermarket brand that doesn’t budge after being spread, as you can see in www.momalew.com’s tutorial

 

6. Orange Bird Feeder

You can follow the instructions HERE (by Messy Little Monster)

My thoughts: This will be messy to make with kids, which is all part of the fun.  In the Little Messy Monster tutorial, they used gelatin and seeds to fill the hollowed-out orange.  I didn’t have gelatin, so I used seut, but you could also use peanut butter.  To make the mess worthwhile, you could batch make the feeders so you can replace them once the birds have gobbled up all the food.

 

7. Plastic Bottle Bird Feeder

You can follow the instructions HERE (Thanks to Baker Ross)

My thoughts: This feeder benefits from having a lid, and it’s made from plastic, so it should last longer than some of the others.  It took me around 10 mins to make, as you have to take your time cutting the holes in the bottle.  I made a mistake whilst cutting that I had to cover up with duct tape.  You can avoid my mistake by using sharper scissors.  If you would like to decorate the feeder, you could paint the wooden spoons, as you can see in the Baker Ross tutorial.

 

8. Pine Cone Bird Feeder

You can follow the instructions HERE (Thanks to Kate @ Berkshire Wildlife Trust)

My thoughts: Another messy feeder to make, but very satisfying pushing the lard into the cones, then sticking seeds to it.  Just make sure you have wipes ready because it gets sticky and slippery.  Putting the mess aside, it took 4 mins to make each bird feeder.  Easy to batch make if you have access to lots of pine cones.

 

9. Coffee Mug Bird Feeder

You can follow the instructions HERE (Thanks to Sarah @ Sadie Seasongoods)

My thoughts: Dead easy to make but dead messy.  Again, the kids will probably love it.  I used lard instead of suet, but they work very similar I would guess.  To prepare the lard, you need to heat it up, which might not be suitable if kids are present.  To get around this, you could mix the bird seeds with peanut butter, then refrigerate to stop the food from falling out of the cup. Make sure you use cheap, solid peanut butter from the supermarket.  Not the oily expensive stuff.

 

10. Bread Slice Bird Feeder

You can follow the instructions HERE (Thanks to Kate @ Crafts on the Sea)

My thoughts: This is amazingly simple, which I love.  Just spread peanut butter on bread, then add seeds.  It involves peanut butter, but nowhere near as messy as the bird feeders listed in this blog.  Make sure that you use solid peanut butter that doesn’t move around in the jar/pot.  I only had the slippery type, so I had to put it in the fridge so the seeds wouldn’t fall off the bread.

 

11. Plastic Milk Carton Bird Feeder

You can follow the instructions HERE (by Meredith @ Great Stems)

My thoughts: This feeder also benefits from having a lid, and it’s made from plastic, so it wether reistant.  It took me around 20 mins to make, as you have to take your time cutting the bird holes.  Get yourself some decent scissors, and you will be able to do this a lot quicker.  You can make this more fun for kids by customising the milk carton. Check out some of the ideas at the bottom of Meredith’s tutorial. I like the one that looks like a Tiki Hut.

 

12. Glass Jar Bird Feeder

You can follow the instructions HERE (by Angie @ Angie Holden)

My thoughts: This is a very simple yet durable feeder that you can keep refilling. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a mason jar, so I used a regular jar without the handle.  A handle is better because it’s easier to attach the twine compared to the slippery surface of a jar.  It took me about 5 minutes, sticky tape and some swearing to tie the twine to the ridges in the jar.  Do not use jars with flat surfaces; twine hates flat, slippery surfaces.

 

13. Loo Roll Bird Feeder

You can follow the instructions HERE (by Georgie @ Go Wild Go West)

My thoughts: This bird feeder is fun to make and a great one for kids to get involved.  I ran out of lard, so I used peanut butter instead.  After a few hours in the fridge, the seeds were fully stuck to the toilet roll.  It saves heating up lard in a pan, although not good if you have nut allergies.  I didn’t have wooden skewers either, so I used twigs from the garden instead. In total, it took me around 5 mins each to make.

 

14. Food Can Bird Feeder

 

You can follow the instructions HERE (by Sara @ Mum Endevors)

My thoughts: Really easy to make and a great use of tins that you would usually throw away.  It took me 3 mins to make this feeder.  I filled it with lard and seed mix, but you can use peanut butter or just add seeds.  You could make it more eye-catching by using ribbons and painting the tin as Sara and her kids show in their tutorial

 

15. Old Basket Bird Feeder

You can follow the instructions HERE (by Jill @ Birds & Bloom)

My thoughts: This is my favourite because I realised how many basic household items could easily be made into bird feeders.  You could substitute a basket for any tub, box or pot that is shallow enough for a bird to dip into.  If your basket has a handle, you may not even need to attach twine to hang it from the tree, so you have a ready-made bird feeder.

 

16. Egg Carton Bird Feeder

You can follow the instructions HERE (by Molly @ Just a Little Creativity)

My thoughts: This took me 3 mins to make, excluding the lard and seed filling, which I used because I had some left over.  You could add seeds without the lard instead, which would be quicker. It was nice and straightforward to make with minimal mess.  My feeder looked a bit shabby, so you may want to decorate the egg carton like Kate and her kids show in their tutorial.

 

Practical Tips

Here are some of the things I learned when making these bird feeders

• Lard or suet is very messy and sticky.  You will have to heat it to mix in the seeds, and it will get everywhere.  Use cheap peanut butter instead.  It is still messy, but you do not have to heat it up, and it doesn’t leave a thin slippery film over your cutlery, plates and work tops.
• Make the feeders in the garden to save on the epic wiping up after you have finished.  Any feeder that needs peanut butter, suet, or lard is messy, messy, and I didn’t have kids helping me.
• Use decent stationery.  I had to get a new hole punch, and it would have saved a lot of time if I had a sharp knife.

 

Submit Your Bird Feeder

If you have a bird feeder that you think will fit into this list, we would love to hear from you.  Please send to [email protected]