Free Issue! Try Saltscapes Magazine before you buy. Download Now

Two birds in the bush are better than none-how to build a backyard buffet to keep avian interest aflutter.

When we first began feeding chickadees, 10 winters ago, we placed three little plastic feeders around the inside of the front deck in order to watch foraging birds through the office window. Those feeders are long gone and the feeding station moved into the backyard among the trees, where restocking the seed is easier. However chickadees have good memories: they continue to check the front deck for food before flitting around the house for their meal.

Over the years we've conducted an unscientific, backyard study of bird food preferences. Mixed seed is a waste-there's too much spillage as birds search for their favourite seeds. We don't put out suet balls: there wasn't a single taker of this delicacy the season we did. We serve only oil sunflower seeds, which the flocks around my neighbourhood eat in vast quantities. A pleasant side effect of the inevitable spillage is that our flowerbed is a showcase of golden blooms in late summer, blooms that go to seed and feed the birds naturally in fall.

For the rest of the time, and to accommodate a variety of birds, we designed a bird feeder with a variety of perches. This bird feeder can easily be adapted to sit on top of a post or on a rail. Simply pre-drill clearance holes through the base in the appropriate locations, and pilot holes into the post or rail, before constructing the feeder.

  1. Begin by marking the locations of the four dowels on the base. The rear two are 1½" from the end and 5½" apart. The front two are 9" from the end and 7½" apart. Use a Forstner bit, or expansive bit set at the correct dimension, and drill four ¼" deep holes at these points, using a piece of masking tape on the drill bit as a depth marker. Check for a tight fit around the dowel after drilling the first one.

2.On one of the rear dowels measure and mark 8" on the front edge and 7½" on the back: the angle to be cut on one end. Eyeball and pencil a line between the two. Clamp the two rear dowels in the bench vise, with the marked one on the top and the ends flush. Saw along the line; use the side of the saw against the top dowel as a guide for cutting the same angle on the second dowel.

3. On the front two dowels measure and mark 8¾" on the lead edge, and 8½" on the back. Clamp them in the vise and cut as before.

 

4. Put the four dowels in place with the angles aligned front to rear. Use a ruler to measure, and mark the locations of the holes for the bamboo perches with a pencil. The four lower ones will neatly hold the plastic lid of a 1L ice cream container if placed at right angles to each other approximately 3/8 " above the base from side to side, and 7/8 " above the base from front to rear. The placement of the higher perches is up to you. We ran two from front to rear at 3¾", one between the two rear dowels at 6¼" and one between the two front dowels at 7¾". There's no need to be exact in drilling the holes; a slight offset will help hold the bamboo in place. Clamp the dowels in the vise and drill 3/8" holes through the diameter of each dowel at the marked points. If you're feeling brave, you can drill through two at a time.

5. Replace the dowels in the base. Thread the bamboo perches through the holes in the dowels. Leave 2" to 3" sticking out on either side and in the front and rear, and saw the excess off. Place the plastic lid between the four dowels and the lower bamboo pieces.

 

 

6. The hole for the bottle neck is big enough to accommodate the threads, and will capture the bottle between them and the ring just below. Drilled square with the top of the roof, the bottle will then be positioned on an angle to reduce the flow of seed. Our hole was 13/8" and located 6" from the rear edge of the roof, or where the shingle is ¼" thick. (A hole in ¼" thick wood is the maximum thickness that will allow the lid to be screwed on once the bottle is inserted through the roof.) 



7. Insert the bottle neck through the hole and screw the lid on, trapping the roof shingle. Place the roof onto the dowels so that the bottle is centred over the plastic saucer; the roof will overhang the rear of the base slightly. Use a carpenter's square to align the roof sides with the base. While holding the roof in place, crouch down to eyeball and mark the locations of the screws down through the roof into the tops of the dowels. Drill pilot holes through the roof into the ends of the dowels and then the clearance holes through the roof. Hold the drill in line with the dowel, not square to the roof. Screw the roof on. A scraping of soap or wax on the screw will help it go in. Note: Pilot hole bits are the size of the shank of the screw; clearance holes are the size of the thread of the screw.

8. Unscrew the seed bottle and cap, and remove them. Flip the bird feeder on its roof. As you did before, eyeball, mark and drill pilot and clearance holes through the base into the bottoms of the dowels. Note: A piece of masking tape on the clearance hole drill bit can be used to ensure that you do not drill into the bottoms of the dowels. Remember the ¼" hole that the dowels are sitting in.

9. A decorative branch can be added to the front of the "porch." We drilled a 3/8 " hole through the end of one and fed the bamboo perch through it. It can also be screwed in place. Use the pilot hole and clearance hole method to prevent splitting.

10. Use a craft knife to cut four rectangular holes 1¼" long and ½" high, equally spaced around the base of the bottle. Fit the bottle back into the feeder so that its neck protrudes through the hole in the roof.

11. Grasp the feeder with a hand on each side of the roof, and move hands until you think you have found the balance point. Then fine tune, using one finger of each hand. Adjust your finger positions until the base lies parallel to the ground, then mark where the centre of your finger touches the wood. Transfer the mark to the top of the roof and drill a pair of holes through the roof, ¾" in from the edge. Make a stopper knot in the end of a piece of cord and feed it from the underside through one of the holes. Pass it through the other hole from the top, and stopper-knot it on the underside of the roof.

12. Fill the bottle with seed; a funnel might help. Screw the lid back on and hang your new bird feeder outside to be enjoyed by feathered friends.

Other Stories You May Enjoy

The ultimate goal of the Churchills’ renovation was to create a space in their Bedford, NS, home where the family - including Megan, 13, and Christopher, 10, shown here—could relax and play games or watch movies together.

Cosy Up to Colour

IN WINTER, the shorter days and icy weather can induce us to spend much of our time comfortably nestled at home.
Lynn and Carl Zimmerman on the day their new home arrived.

The special delivery home or cottage

On a brisk morning in late November, Carl and Lynn Zimmerman watched in excitement as a crane hoisted their new home from a truck and settled it on a slab on their lakefront property near...

It’s a Dog’s Life

THERE’S A cacophony of barking when I knock on the door of Linda Lusby’s home on a quiet cul-de-sac in Wolfville, NS. She comes to the door of her mudroom, welcomes me, and says with a mischievous grin,...