DIY feeder with metered holes. How to make a bird feeder. Convenient DIY bird feeders: photos of tray structures and platforms

Winter time is a serious test for birds. Every day it becomes more and more difficult to find food. Take care of the birds - hang a feeder made with your own hands from the simplest materials at hand, which we usually throw in a landfill. We have selected photos and original ideas for making feeders that do not require special skills or complex drawings.

Having accustomed the birds to the feeder, you will be able to observe the entertaining avian bustle and the secret life of birds.

Some of them defend their rights in fights with relatives, others enter into competition with other species, but without exception, all of them carefully look around so as not to miss the attack of a small hawk, which is very interested in visitors to the feeder.

A simple bird feeder will bring great benefits to birds

Materials for making a feeder can be very diverse, but there are some general design rules:

• the feeder should, first of all, be convenient for the birds; there should be no difficulty in removing food;
• The roof and sides will help protect the food from snow, rain and wind. Exposure to moisture can cause food to deteriorate and become moldy, which means it will turn into poison for birds;
• It is desirable that the material from which the feeder will be made be resistant to moisture, otherwise such a design will not last long and a new one will need to be made;

The feeder must be safe: have no sharp sides and be located high enough above the ground

• walls and corners should not be sharp or prickly;
• feeders for small birds are made small in size so that larger and more aggressive species do not encroach on their food;
• It is better to place feeders on tree branches or attach them to the walls of outbuildings at a height of about one and a half meters, so that cats do not offend the birds, and it is convenient to sprinkle food on your feathered friends.

Advice. Birds get used to a permanent feeding place and are ready to travel many kilometers to the feeder. Therefore, feeding must be constant, otherwise the birds may die.

Plywood bird feeder

You can buy a feeder in a hypermarket, or you can make it yourself in a few hours. A plywood feeder can be made open, with a flat or gable roof, and a bunker compartment can be provided if you cannot constantly monitor the amount of feed in the feeder. Of course, you will need drawings, fortunately, there are plenty of them on the Internet with ready-made dimensions of parts for cutting. Choose a design that you like, the drawing will make the work easier and guarantee that in the end you will get exactly what is shown in the photo.

Lightweight and durable feeder made from plywood sheets

When choosing a design for a future feeder, consider the bird population in your region. Jays, pigeons and magpies can eat all the food, leaving little titmice hungry. To prevent this from happening, make the size of the feeder openings such that large birds cannot reach the feed.

So, you will need a hammer, an electric jigsaw, nails of a suitable length, water-based glue, sandpaper, plywood, 20 x 20 mm timber. Let's look at a simple feeder.

Ideas and drawings of a bird feeder made of wood

Wooden feeders are attractive because they last a long time and keep their shape well - this is due to the properties and reliability of wood. To make such a feeder you will need at least minimal skills in working with tools and a drawing. The board for production should be 18 - 20 mm thick. Let's consider the option of making a feeder, which you can do yourself or take a photo as a basis for a drawing. We will need a beam measuring 4.5 x 2 cm for the racks, a square of plywood 25 x 25 cm for the bottom, two pieces measuring 35 x 22 cm for the roof, nails, screws and glue.

Feeder made of wooden beams

Such a feeder can be installed permanently on a dug-in post or drill two holes in the ridge, screw in a screw with a hook and hang it on a wire. Several birds can fly up to the feeder at the same time, the food is protected from the wind by the sides and roof, the feathered friends of the garden will love such a cozy dining room.

Finished wooden feeder

If you have a gazebo on your site, hang a simple feeder there without a roof. It is enough to make a side and a bottom. If you want to paint the feeder or open it with varnish, then use water-based compounds so as not to harm the birds.

Advice. To prevent the wood from splitting, you need to make the tip of the nail blunt, and drill a hole for the screw before screwing it in.

Making a feeder out of cardboard (suitable for children)

One of the simplest feeders. The cardboard version is interesting because it can be made in a place with children and at the same time have a great time with them. This would be a great craft for kindergarten or elementary school. There is a lot of room for creativity here. Cardboard is an excellent option; it is only afraid of direct water. But if you want to play it safe and make the feeder more resistant to moisture, then you can glue the external elements of the feeder with wide tape, especially its upper and lower parts. In a forest or park, such a feeder can easily last all winter and part of spring.

Collage of a cardboard feeder. Photo livemaster.ru/topic/179659-delaem-kormushku-iz-kartona

The set of tools and materials is minimal, and if you don’t have something from this list, you can always find a replacement. So we will need these materials and tools:

• A couple of sheets of cardboard (A4 format or more);
• Ruler;
• Scotch tape (for structural reliability);
• Stationery knife;
• A rope or piece of nylon rope to hang the feeder;
• Pencil or felt-tip pen;
• Cardboard glue or glue gun;
• Hole puncher.

If such a feeder is going to take the prize as the best craft in your kindergarten, then you will have to work a little in terms of external design. Here our cardboard will give a head start to any Tetra-Pak (this is a milk or juice carton), you can beautifully draw on it and decorate it in every possible way. Undoubtedly, the prize from kindergarten will be yours!

Pumpkin feeder

But here, as they say, words are unnecessary - everything is visible in the photo collage. I would like to add that such a feeder looks very attractive and unusual and will be a real decoration of your garden, this is due to the shape of the feeder and its color, which looks great against the background of white snow.

This option is also suitable for making with children. And such a beautiful, bright craft will definitely not go unnoticed in kindergarten.

Bird feeder from a box (package) Tetra Pak) from juice or milk

You can make a feeder from a milk carton or a tetra pack of juice, like this. Even a child can do this. For this you will need:

• clean juice box;
• a piece of nylon rope or wire to hang the feeder;
• adhesive plaster;
• marker;
• scissors or stationery knife.

Milk carton bird feeder

First of all, mark and cut holes on opposite sides of the tetra pack. To make it convenient for the birds to take food and fly out. We cover the bottom side of the window with adhesive tape for the convenience and safety of the birds. We poke a hole under the holes with scissors and insert the cardboard rolled up into a tube, which is left over from cutting the holes above. In the bent corners we make small holes for wire or rope. And we tie it to a branch.

The feeder can be attached to a tree trunk. Such a feeder will not sway in the wind. To do this, feeding slots are made not on opposite sides of the bag, but on adjacent ones. On the opposite side we fix the wire in the slot and screw it to the tree.

Horizontal feeder made of tetro pack

You can make a feeder out of two juice bags. We cut the first package along the narrow sides, leaving the top uncut. From the second tetra pack we cut off the third part and cut a hole on the front side of the bag - this will be the feeding board or the bottom of the feeder. We combine the bottom with the first package so that we get a triangle. The parts can be connected with glue, wrapped with tape, or by piercing the bottom of the sides and inserting straws for cocktails.

Bird feeder made from plastic bottles 1.5 - 2 liters

Let's look at some variations of making a do-it-yourself feeder made from plastic containers.

Option #1. The simplest feeder

Symmetrically, on both sides of the bottle we cut out two holes: round, square, rectangular or in the form of an arch. There should be bridges between the holes. If you make a slot in the form of an inverted letter “P” and bend the plate upward, you will get a rain canopy. You can stick an adhesive plaster or fabric tape to the bottom edge of the hole - the edges will not be sharp and the birds will sit comfortably. We make symmetrical holes in the lower part and insert a stick - the result is a feeder with a perch.

A simple feeder made from a plastic bottle

You can attach such a dining room for birds to a tree by wrapping the jumper with tape, rope or other suitable material, as seen in the photo. If you make a hole in the bottle cap and insert the ends of the twine, and then tie them in a knot, you will get a loop that can be thrown over the branches of garden trees.

Be sure to make the edges of the plastic feeder safe - cover the cut areas with electrical tape

Option #2. Bunker feeder.

This design is rational to use because the feed can be poured in for several days. As the birds eat it, the food will automatically be added to the feeding area itself.

Hopper feeder made from plastic bottles

You will need two bottles of the same volume. We mark one bottle with a marker before cutting. We make holes at the bottom, as in feeder No. 1, and remove the top third of the bottle. We make two symmetrical holes at the top - a ribbon or twine will later be tied to them for hanging the feeder. In the second bottle we cut several holes at the narrowest part - food will pour out of them. Do not make large holes right away; it is better to expand them later. We pour food into the bottle, tighten the cap and insert the bottle into the first bottle, cut by a third.

Option #3. Feeder with spoon

We make a hole in the cork and insert twine for hanging. Then we make two holes symmetrically the size of the spoon. We cut a hole in the bottle above the bowl-shaped deep part of the spoon, slightly widening it so that the birds can take the food. Fill the feeder and hang it up.

Feeder with spoon

Advice. Using a hot needle or small nail, make several holes in the bottom of the feeder to drain moisture that gets inside.

Bird feeder made from a plastic bottle 5 liters

Probably in every home there is an empty five-liter plastic water bottle. Making a feeder in one evening to feed birds in winter from this material is very simple. Such a container will hold much more food than a smaller plastic bottle, as can be seen in the photo. Several holes will allow several birds to feed comfortably at once.

Feeder made from a five-liter plastic bottle

This is a very simple and quick option, invite your children or other family members to take part in the manufacturing process: find a ribbon or wire to tie the finished feeder to a tree branch, prepare a treat for the birds. Prepare a clean bottle, a sharp knife, pruning shears or a utility knife.

We cut the hole based on how we plan to secure the container to the tree:

• horizontally - cut a wide hole from the bottom of the bottle and the same from the neck;
• vertically - at a height of 5-7 cm from the bottom of the container, cut several square holes or three rectangular ones.

Materials needed to make a feeder

It is convenient to tie the bottle by the neck to a branch with wire or twine. If the feeder is made in a horizontal version, then use a knife to make two holes on the wall through which you pass the twine for tying. To prevent the feeder from swaying in the wind, place a quarter of a brick on the bottom to weigh it down, and load a treat on top.

You can also build a bunker feeder from a five-liter bottle. To do this you will need a five-liter bottle and two 1.5-liter bottles, a marker, a stationery knife and a rope.

You can place the feeder under the roof to make the birds more comfortable

With a little ingenuity, you can use the simplest plastic bottles to create unusual dining rooms for birds that will decorate your area.

Shoebox bird feeder

Everything is simple here. Take a thick shoe box with a lid. We make a round hole in the lid. The hole needs to be moved slightly from the center to the bottom edge of the box (a little different in the photo), this is necessary so that the birds can reach the food, which will lie at the bottom of the box.

We make a small hole in the top of the box and insert a tourniquet or rope through it. We tie an old pencil or stick to the end of this rope. We will then tie the other end of the rope to the branch of the tree on which we plan to hang the feeder. Then you can wrap the box with wrapping paper, but this is for aesthetic purposes, you don’t have to do this.

We make a roof out of ordinary cardboard and put it on glue. Next, we glue the lid to the box itself with tape, as in Figure 3, 4, and also thread a rope through the lid.

At the moment when we hang the finished feeder on a tree, the roof may come unstuck from the box, but this is not scary, it won’t be able to get away anywhere, because it will be held in place by a rope.

And in the picture below is an even simpler version of a shoebox feeder. But there is no need to explain anything here, everything is already visible in the photo. The entire box is simply wrapped with tape, which, by the way, is very practical. And in our opinion, it turned out to be original and unusual.

Cardboard bird feeder

To make a bird canteen with your own hands, the simplest material will do, which is stored in abundance on the balconies of most families: boxes of electrical goods, cardboard packaging of food products. Choose thicker cardboard with a laminated coating; laminate will slightly increase the service life of the feeder. Although, as written above, you can use wide tape for these purposes. The advantage of this design is that there is already a bottom, walls and roof of the future feeder, which needs to be slightly modified by cutting square or rectangular holes on the sides.

Even a schoolchild can make a cozy feeder from a mailbox with his own hands

You will need a nylon cord, scissors or a stationery knife and tape. Since cardboard is a very short-lived material and is afraid of moisture, a finished feeder wrapped with tape will last until the next season. Having cut the side holes and secured the cord, you can hang the feeder and fill it with treats for the birds, which will not keep you waiting long. Place sand or some pebbles at the bottom so that the structure does not sway too much in the wind.

If you cover a cardboard feeder with paints, it will last longer.

You can do it a little differently. We glue the lid of the box perpendicularly so that the lid serves as a stern stand, and the second part of the box serves as a side and a roof. We glue the structure with tape. We make two hooks from wire: we bend a piece of wire in half and pierce the “ceiling” of the feeder with the ends, twist it and bend it from the inside. By connecting the hooks, you can hang the feeder on a branch. As you can see in the photo. Now pour in the food and wait for the guests.

Window bird feeder (with suction cups)

Such feeders are a very interesting option for the general development of children, and adults too :). The feeder is attached to the window, or rather to the glass, using suction cups. Usually such feeders are also made transparent in order to fully enjoy watching the birds. If you have suction cups, you can make such a feeder yourself, for example, from the same plastic bottle, but you must agree that it will still not be as aesthetically pleasing as the ready-made version from the store. Children will probably start taking pictures of all this, and photos with yellowed, cloudy bottles will, to put it mildly, not be so hot. The purchased options look very nice.

Instead of throwing away plastic water and lemonade bottles, you can put them to good use. For example, make a bird feeder. The manufacturing process will be interesting for both children and adults, and in addition, your feathered friends will be very grateful. A DIY bird feeder made from plastic bottles hanging on a tree will decorate the yard and attract children's attention to the surrounding nature.

Before you start making a feeder, you should keep in mind that it is made primarily for birds, and not just for decoration. The width of the windows should allow them to fly in and out freely without damaging their legs and wings. It is necessary to make holes in the plastic bottom so that water that gets inside does not linger and spoil the food. Decorations rustling and rattling in the wind will not attract birds, but will scare them away.

Also, you should not hang feeders close to the windows and walls of the house: firstly, washing bird droppings is difficult and unpleasant, and secondly, constant bird “showdowns” will quickly get boring. The feeder should be light enough to be suspended. If it is securely fastened, there is a chance that a cat will choose it instead of birds.

Let's get started

Tools you need are a bottle, a utility knife, rope, a felt-tip pen and tape.

Master class on making a feeder. Plastic bottles must be clean, the volume does not really matter. Using a felt-tip pen, outline the outline of the future hole, or two, if desired. If you cut two holes, you need to leave 1.5-2 cm jumpers between them.

The larger the holes, the larger the birds will be able to fly to visit. It is advisable to seal the holes with tape so that the birds do not get hurt.

But there is another danger: birds can peck at the tape and die from it. It is best to tie the sharp edges with thick yarn or melt them with fire. Holes are made in the bottom of the bottle to drain water. The rope is tied to the neck, food is poured inside and the feeder is ready.

The best feeder with dosed food, then you don’t have to check every day whether there is still food for the birds. Stepping back a little from the bottom, a small hole is made in the bottle. The bottle filled with food should be placed on a flat stand or bowl.

Large feeders

From a 5-liter bottle you can make a wonderful large feeder, where not only sparrows and tits, but also larger birds can fly. It can be placed on its side:

Arrange as a gazebo:

Make windows with cornices:

Take care of your roof:

Insert the small bottle into the larger one to dose the feed:

Original design

We learned how to make a feeder from a plastic bottle. Now we need to figure out how to decorate the craft so that it pleases not only the birds, but also the eyes of people. A plastic bottle can be decorated using other plastic bottles, spray paint, a soldering iron and Moment glue. Flowers are cut out from the bottoms of liter or 1.5 liter bottles, painted in different colors and attached to the feeder with a stapler.

The bottle is wrapped in burlap, glued and painted. A bunch of straw is placed on top, imitating a roof, and flowers are attached in the form of appliqués.

Birds in a private garden are pleasantly chirping and animatedly fluttering along the branches. In autumn, when the garden is “bare” and empty, little birds give it a new sound.

Birds play an aesthetic and sanitary role. They are indispensable assistants in the fight against harmful insects. Feeders will help attract and retain orderlies in the garden. You can make beautiful bird feeders with your own hands from scrap materials, for example, from plastic bottles.

With cold weather and the first snow, forest birds experience an acute shortage of food. It is advisable to hang feeders in the garden at the beginning of autumn and replenish the supplies as they become empty. Do not put in a lot of food at once. Over time, rot and mold develop, turning the grain into unusable food.

When choosing a design, be guided by the following:

• keeping food dry even when it rains;
• unhindered access of birds to food;
• it is desirable to have perches;
• the presence of two or more holes, and they must be through so that the bird does not perceive the feeder as a trap;
• sections are glued with adhesive tape or tape;
• the height of the sides is 7-10 cm.

The finished feeder needs to be secured with the convenience of replenishing supplies in mind, but it also takes into account that it is out of reach for cats. For the feeder, suitable material is moisture and sun resistant, lightweight, wear-resistant and safe for birds. Plastic meets these criteria, and plastic bottles make an excellent base.

Good ideas with short instructions

The design of bird feeders made from 1.5-liter or 5-liter plastic bottles has 2 types: free access to food and a bunker system. In the first type, windows are cut out of the bottle through which the bird takes food poured on the bottom. In the second case, food is poured with reserve into the “bunker”, from where it flows “by gravity” into a special tray or to the bottom of the feeder as the birds eat it. The second design is convenient in that it is not possible to replenish the “canteen” every day, and the remainder is clearly visible through the transparent plastic.

The orientation of the feeders can be vertical (it’s more convenient to attach with twine through the lid) or horizontal (more birds can feed at the same time).

Let's consider original ideas that will inspire craftsmen to create a real decorative element with a useful function.

A simple and quick way to make a feeder: take a 5-liter container, cut out a small window (preferably two) at the bottom, 7 cm from the bottom, and hang it vertically on a branch by the handle. Make a hole in the lid for a wire from which to hang a piece of unsalted lard.

If you have a 1.5 liter container, then make one hole, but a fairly large one. By treating the edges with colored material, we get both a safe and bright feeder. To secure it to a tree, just tie it to a branch by the neck with a strong ribbon.

A bird-friendly option with perches that go right through the bottle just below the holes. The perches serve as a kind of weighting material and empty containers will not “fly” in the wind. Visors are provided for protection from rain and snow. Holes are made at the bottom with a heated nail to drain condensate. A good place for a feeder is not only on a tree, but also under the porch canopy. At the same time, it is protected from winds and precipitation.

You can make a simple bunker feeder from a 1.5 or 2 liter plastic bottle. To do this, prepare two wooden “spoons” with a long handle, make holes of the appropriate diameter in the bottle and push the handle through. A small hole is made above the “spoon” tray so that a flying bird can take the grains. Spilled grains will remain on the tray and not fall to the ground.

The bottle is completely filled with grain. You should not make the holes too high, as they will sooner be unused, although the container will still be half full. You can make two trays at the bottom and one at the top. To protect the trays from snow, install a roof made from a 5-liter bottle.

You can secure bin feeders by tying a strong belt or twine around the neck, or by threading a metal pin with a loop on top through the lid (it’s even easier to make a loop from a piece of wire or wire and hang it on a branch).

If you glue a plate to the bottom of a liter plastic bottle (an old children's bowl made of thick plastic will do), you will get a convenient dining room with a bunker system. You can secure the plate using liquid nails or other fastening compounds that are intended for outdoor use and are not afraid of moisture. At the bottom, 5 cm away from the bottom, 3-4 holes are made to extract food. The plate serves as both a tray and a perch at the same time.

In addition to plastic water or drink bottles, they use plastic 5-liter canisters for liquid soap, fabric softener or construction primer. First, you need to rinse and dry them well, then cut out the required number of holes. If the container has a handle, then there will be no problems with hanging.

Otherwise, we proceed similarly to the previous examples and thread the cord or wire through the holes in the lid.

A 5 liter canister and a 1.5 liter bottle will make a good feeder with a hopper. It is enough to cut out a large window on one side of the canister, and cut off the bottom of a 1.5-liter bottle and tie it inside the canister with the neck down, so that you can add grain through the lid of the canister. The result will be a food supply for birds protected from wind and rain.

If you show a little imagination and involve children's imagination in the process, then a homemade feeder made from a plastic bottle will become an unusual decor for the garden. The most practical solution is to wrap the container with twine. To secure the rope, it is soaked in an adhesive base.

Fir branches and cones, decorative birds and flowers are used for decoration. The main thing is not to overdo it with decor, the excess of which will scare the birds. If you make only one small hole, you will get a warm and cozy birdhouse.

Master class: convenient bunker-type feeder

To make it, you will need two plastic water bottles, one juice or tea bottle (with stiffer walls) and any plastic container lid of a suitable diameter and with high sides.

Manufacturing process with step-by-step photos:

• cut off the neck of 2 bottles;

• We cut off the excess plastic from the resulting “dispenser” blanks to make a small funnel, as shown in the photo;

• take another bottle and mark on both sides with a marker the hole for the “dispenser” on the lid;

• Using a stationery knife and scissors, we make a “skirt” in the marked circle for better fixation and protection from moisture;

• in the covers of the prepared “dispensers”, use a drill to make a hole in the form of a wide slot (grain will flow through it from the hopper), insert the prepared “dispensers” into the holes;

• Using a drill, we make two holes below the “dispensers” for the passage of a wooden stick (we select the diameter of the drill in accordance with the diameter of the stick), pass the stick through two holes at once; its length should be enough to form 10 cm perches on both sides;

• We fix the plastic cap to the bottom of the bottle, and we get a practical and convenient feeder, spending 15 - 20 minutes.

Scientists now clearly agree that there are no harmful birds at all. Even from such arrogant rogues as hooded crows and cormorants, as it turned out, there is still much more benefit than harm. Documented attacks on climbers by bearded eagle and lamb's eagle have been caused by climbers approaching their nests; a brood is a brood, it needs to be protected. The second thing that experts are unanimous about is that in winter a bird feeder is needed in residential areas. Many of the small and most useful of them do not make regular flights, but undertake feeding migrations in winter. Near human habitation, food areas remain plentiful longer than in the wild, and when real cold comes with lack of food, there is no longer enough strength to fly: there will be nothing to eat along the way.

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

Wild birds at feeders in winter

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

What kind of feeder should it be?

Let us first imagine the design of a feeding trough. Let’s just imagine it, because there is no need to draw it up on paper and run around with it in offices with serious uncles and caustic aunts. But, firstly, you need to know where and for what purpose there will be a winter bird canteen: in the city, outside the city, for temporary feeding in the very cold or for permanently attracting useful helpers. Secondly, who will we feed? Who should we let go ahead, and who should we unobtrusively ask to wait? For example, if others have a bad time, sparrows, crows and pigeons will certainly kill each other. They have long become accustomed to humans and will find something to profit from in the most severe food shortage, but in a dacha or on an estate other birds will be of more use.

Having decided on the “range of 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 an extensive solid level support, from thick branches, twigs and tree trunks, clinging to them with their claws, from swaying thin branches and blades of grass; The design of the feeder should provide advantageous access to feed to desired guests. We do not mean birds that take food in the summer; they are all migratory. After this, we will select the material for the feeder, preferably free, and from it we will see how to make it. This is approximately the WPR (work execution plan).

Who will feed?

As already said, sparrows, pigeons and, especially, crows need to be discouraged from the feeder. What kind of birds are desirable on it? Of course, wintering in this area. They can be divided into 2 categories: the first are nomadic. They do not have specific wintering places; Where there is enough food, it is good there even in winter. They will be the most frequent guests at the feeder. The second ones are obligate, i.e. necessarily wintering in their permanent feeding stations (areas). Only extreme circumstances can drive them to the feeder: a particularly harsh winter, etc. In the central zone of the Russian Federation and in the south of Siberia, in addition to the ubiquitous persistent sparrows, the birds shown in the figure fly to the feeder; a list with names is below it.

Birds you can expect at your feeder in winter

• nuthatch;
• pika;
• lesser spotted woodpecker;
• crossbill;
• jay;
• nutcracker or nutcracker;
• bullfinch;
• waxwing;
• common grosbeak;
• goldfinch;
• yellowhammer;
• greenfinch;
• great tit;
• blue tit;
• tufted tit;
• Muscovy tit;
• long-tailed tit;
• chickadee.

The first trinity are obligately wintering insectivorous birds. Nuthatch and pika extract insects from bark cracks and wood passages with beaks specially adapted for this purpose. Woodpeckers, as you know, gouge their way to prey. At the feeder, you can almost certainly expect only the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker: it has already, one might say, completely gotten along with people, and with a lack of animal food, it is able to feed on hard seeds. Other woodpeckers (black or yellow, great spotted, green, golden or Syrian) will never fly to the feeder, and if a nuthatch and/or pika appear there, it means that the birds are generally unwell this winter, and high-calorie food with animal fats should be given and proteins; which one exactly – 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 from cones, these are the most specialized of shelling birds, their beak has turned into something like tongs. Crossbills even hatch chicks in the middle of winter, when there are plenty of puffed up cones. In general, they don’t care about taking food from a branch or clinging to a support, as long as it’s not from the ground. Jays and nutcrackers are also shellers, but not as skilled. By the way, Kedrovka can be seen not only in the north; sometimes it undertakes long-distance feeding migrations, during which it 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 and nutcracker create storehouses of seeds, which are not fully used, or are even completely forgotten. This is how the forest spreads. Forestry specialists are confident that without nutcrackers, maintaining the supply of Siberian pine (Siberian cedar) would be impossible. In addition, jays and nutcrackers destroy a lot of wintering harmful insects.

It is possible to attract shelling birds to your site, but they need a special type of homemade feeders, see below. Shelling feeders are also sold ready-made, but there is nothing in them that you cannot make yourself. They will also be suitable for crossbills in case of cone harvest failure, however, after feeding, they will fly back into the forest.

Note: Just in case, let us also remind you: insectivorous forest birds and shellers fly to people for food in the most extreme cases, and then they must be offered nutritious, high-calorie food. Along the way, they will thoroughly clean up the garden and vegetable garden from overwintering harmful little things.

The bullfinch, waxwing, grosbeak and goldfinch are considered primarily frugivorous birds. There is no mistake here, we are not talking about flesh, but about juicy fruits and berries. Their seeds 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 their chicks with insects, and while/when there is no harvest, they themselves do not disdain them. Actually, frugivorous birds of middle latitudes can be considered avian omnivores, because. animal feed makes up a significant portion of their diet. The goldfinch can generally consume more insects than plant foods. In the extermination of wintering pests, they complement insectivores and shellers, because those, as a rule, do not take prey that is completely open and motionless, for example. pupae.

It is advisable to introduce frugivorous birds to the site, but with caution. A good bait would be pieces of soft, juicy plant food placed on the roof of the feeder: apple cores with seeds, pumpkin, cucumber. However, before you put bait, you need to take a closer look at those eating: if a grosbeak is seen among them, it is better to refuse baiting. In the spring, it pecks out swelling buds and in some places has become a real scourge of gardens and vegetable gardens. Later, the grosbeak more than compensates for the damage, destroying huge numbers of May beetles and cabbage caterpillars, but still there is no need to promote its excessive reproduction.

Note: Sometimes it is advised, as a winter vitamin supplement, to put twigs in the feeder that have been left in water at home until the buds swell. No need, just like any other seedlings, or even absolutely useful tits, can learn to “bear wood.” The best vitamin food for birds in winter is cores of apples and pears with seeds, fibrous core of pumpkin with seeds, bunches of viburnum, rowan, elderberry, dried rose hips, cherry (can be made from compote) and grape seeds. For more information about feed, see below.

Fruit-eating birds take food from the ground and clinging to a support, so the feeder for them can be anything other than a swinging suspension, see below. They are stronger and stronger than sparrows, but not so impudent, so they are not competitors for tits if there is enough food. Goldfinches are the most common species at the feeder; they are close to becoming obligately hibernating human symbionts. Here it is useful to remember Saint-Exupery: “We are responsible for those we have tamed.”

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

Note: The author is deeply convinced that the old song about the little siskin who drank vodka on the Fontanka was composed not only as a mockery of the cadets of one of the elite cadet corps who wore yellow and black uniforms. In nature, the siskin really has a somewhat drowsy and arrogant look, like that of a beginning heavy drinker who has just grabbed (snatched, grunted, missed, rolled, knocked over, knocked over, etc., etc.) a stopper or two, see fig. on right. That doesn’t stop him from being as careful and prudent as a bird.

Finally, a horde of tit birds who steal wheat only from the house that Jack built. In fact, insects are an indispensable and significant part of their diet, and of varying sizes. If the great and tufted tits are able to cope with locusts, then the long-tailed tit and chickadee are not averse to pecking at aphids and spider mites. The tits have gotten along quite well with people; there is no need to attract them, they will come on their own. In normal winters, feeding should be given with dry plant matter, and in severe frosts - highly nutritious, like other insectivores. Then, having become bored with the dry grass over the winter, the titmice will attack the pests in the spring, not allowing them to properly stretch their mandibles, and they will immediately have no time for seedlings with crops. And whoever survives this beak slaughter will no longer be able to cause significant damage to the crop. Tits can take food from the thinnest branches blown by the wind; they only have one evolutionary step left to learn how to take food from the summer. This makes it easier to create specialized tit canteens.

What about sparrows?

Sparrows are no less useful than other granivores, but they are daring, sneaky, and live in flocks. And an ordinary bird feeder, unlike crows and pigeons, is quite suitable in size for them. Sparrows take food mainly from the ground, but they are not afraid of branches. Therefore, they are able to eat other birds, when for them feeding is a matter of life and death, and the chirping scoundrels themselves, in the meantime, could 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 really blowing in the crop.

Diagram of a bird feeder that is unattractive to sparrows

Here you can use their caution and manner of avoiding danger. If you noticed, the sparrows run away, starting from a place steeply upward. Therefore, a feeder with low entrances (windows for birds to access the food) 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-sparrow” feeder can be made similar to a chicken feeder, diagram in Fig. Next we will consider other options.

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 navigate primarily by sight; Their hearing is rather weak, and their sense of smell, one might say, is non-existent. Therefore, the food should be visible from afar.
• The food must be protected from being blown by the wind, snowed in, or eaten by unwanted visitors such as 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 stoats. There are quite a few of them living near homes, but they are very good at avoiding being seen.
• It is better to hang feeders for temporary feeding in winter, so they will attract sparrows less.
• Stationary feeders for attracting birds to the site should be placed on poles with protection from predators, see below. Birds flying to feed will recognize the area as theirs if the food is found on a sufficiently large, flat, stable area.

Based on everything stated above, let’s see which winter bird feeders are better in which case. Their main types are shown in the figure:

Types of winter feeders for wild birds

1 – hanging feeder. Just food on a string or in a mesh case. A typical tit feeder in case of extreme cold. Among other birds, it can be visited by forest insectivores, except woodpeckers. “Antifreeze” food for tits – just a piece of unsalted lard, pos. 1 on next rice. A more nutritious option, also designed for shellers, is a ball of a mixture of seeds (see below), held together with congealed lard or peanut butter in a vegetable net, pos. 2. However, there is no need to cast the feed mass into plastic cups or beautiful shapes and freeze it (pos. 6,7), it is difficult for birds to cling and the calories from feeding may not compensate for the energy consumption to support themselves by fluttering their wings. The ball from the finished mass must be sculpted by hand in the cold; the fat hardens quickly, and the ball can be hung immediately.

Hanging feeders for tits

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

For shelling birds, bullfinches and waxwings, hanging feeding from a cone will be good; For visibility, it’s a good idea to supplement it with a bunch of viburnum or rowan, pos. 1 to the following figure:

Hanging feeder made of pine cones

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

Paper hanging feeders

A hanging feeder for any birds that take food from a swinging support can be quickly made from paper. In fact, paper is not a material for winter feeders: it becomes limp and pecks. But a spool from a toilet paper roll, smeared with the same peanut butter and sprinkled with seeds (see the picture on the right), can save more than one poor creature right before your eyes, and you can make such a feeder in literally 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 the tails red and/or green: for birds, red means berries, and where there is greenery in winter, there will be food.

2 – platform. The advantage is that the feed is clearly visible. Disadvantages: the food falls asleep in the snow, the wind blows it up, a lot of it wakes up, the sparrows feel at home on it.

Feeder-house out of the box

3 – house. The food is protected from snow; By selecting the roof structure, the feeder-house can be made windproof and anti-sparrow. But a lot of food still wakes up, and only birds that are accustomed to feeding will come to dine. Forest dwellers, reaching for housing in an extreme situation, may simply not see what is there and drop dead two steps away. A feeding house with a sloping roof can also be quickly built from a box, as shown in Fig. on right. If circumstances allow, then it is advisable to soak the box three to five times diluted with PVA (it is also useful for cardboard feeders), and glue supports from sticks/twigs. Then the structure will be enough for more than one winter. This feeder is nailed to the tree.

Note: the feeding platform can be converted 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, works well, but thin polycarbonate will also work. In the latter case, you need to nail slats with grooves to the sides of the platform and slide the roof in and out of them.

Feeder house for strong birds

A feeder-house with a pitched roof is also convenient for fairly large and strong birds: pigeons, waxwings, jays, nutcrackers. They all don’t mind feeding in a row, so a dining house for them needs to be made with a perch. Material – any suitable, incl. and treated cardboard as a wood substitute, see below. The feeder for these birds should be larger than for small birds; For approximate dimensions see fig. on right. It’s tempting to quickly build a similar one from a shoebox, in the same place, but it won’t last long: strong, active birds will tear and peck at the weak material in a feeding or two.

4 – bunker. Optimal in all respects, including anti-sparrow resistance. The fact is that sparrows are flocking birds. If the flock does not fit in the feeding area, 1-2 sparrows will not “run over” the buntings with chickadees: they will eat in someone else’s company, but take turns and observe decency.

Homemade bunker bird feeders

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

Making a bird feeder from a bottle

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

5.6 – tray. The food is poorly visible, so these are feeders for familiar and important birds. What is better to do in front of the entrance, a landing platform or a perch-pole, depends on the type of feeding; What is more convenient for someone, we will see further in the course of the presentation. They are divided into designs with free access to feed (5 in the figure at the beginning of the section) and its automatic feeding into the feeding tray (6 in the same place). The latter are even better than bunker ones: the feed practically does not spill. We will look at them in more detail later. A tray feeder can be designed to accommodate only 1 or several species of birds (6), but to do this you need to have serious knowledge of ornithology, appropriate tools and skills; Specialized tray feeders are commercially available in a fairly wide range.

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

7 – specialized feeder-husker 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 feeders today are plastic. There are several reasons: empty, unusable plastic containers have nowhere to go, transparent plastic makes the food visible from afar, working with plastic is easy, not wasteful, and can be done at home without special tools. Plastics are durable, resistant, bird feeders made from them will last for many years and can be made of any type.

Plastic bird feeders

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

Good small plastic feeders are made from used toys: cubes, etc. They are made from polyethylene, so the only reliable way to glue, for example, a roof is instant cyanoacrylate glue (superglue). The feeders are clearly visible, all birds are curious to one degree or another, 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 products for pos. 2 For complete bird happiness, the only thing missing is perches: polyethylene is slippery.

At pos. 3 and 4 are already purchased plastic feeders. Just a note: the house on pos. 3 costs 180 rubles, and the transparent “firm” at pos. 4 – three times more. But the same feeder can be glued together from scraps of polycarbonate and equipped, if you really want it for a window, with suction cups for bathroom shelves.

Feeders made from unusable plastic containers deserve special consideration, see fig. below. The design for pos. is very well thought out. 1. A wide tray provides good visibility of food, and in combination with a perch allows any birds to feed. The large capacity of the tray and the corresponding supply of food in it do not require frequent approaches from feeders, which frightens the birds less. The trough-shaped tray ensures minimal spillage of feed. Wing hatches bent upward provide an anti-sparrow effect; The platform they form on top allows you to place juicy vitamin supplements.

Bird feeders made from unusable containers

Feeders for pos. 2 and 3 are focused on tits, goldfinches and granivores. The main thing in them is a properly designed dispenser tray, see below. Simpler feeders for the same tribe, pos. 4 and 5, you can hang it if the sparrows are not very annoying. At pos. 4 there was a container for computer disks, this is more for small things like siskins, and the feeding station from a sour cream bucket (item 5) will feed bullfinches and waxwings.

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

Bird feeders made from bags and bottles

If you screw a hard wooden circle to the bottom of the dishes instead of wobbly valves, you can count on visits from the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. He won’t sit on a tit flap: what kind of woodpecker will he be if he doesn’t cling to a tree with his claws?

Large bags make public canteens, then the openings need to be cut larger so that the food can be seen from afar. In the case when the feeder is suspended in free space, you must also pierce it with a perch, pos. 4. When placed in a bush as a perch for tits, its branches, pos. 5, and the sparrows will be uncomfortable here.

Egg bag and tray...

How to make a bird feeder from a plastic bottle

How to make a feeder from a plastic container 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 big. In this case, it can be glued together from cardboard or several layers of paper soaked in diluted PVA, see next. rice.:

Construction of a bird feeder tray made from eggplant

Yellow arrows show the paths of feed 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 right through with it. The arrows in the center of the circle give the horizontal and vertical scale, i.e. the entrance will be 6 cm in diameter, this is enough for birds no larger than a great tit.

... and a house made of packages

Feeder house made from juice bags

From 2 juice packets you get a good tit feeder-house, see fig. on right. The entire structure is held together with straws from the same juice, their protruding ends will be perches. To prevent the perches from bending (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.

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 last for years. Therefore, wooden feeders are most often made stationary. Of course, to make them you will also need carpentry tools with a separate workplace.

A simple homemade bird feeder made of wood

The traditional design of a wooden feeder is a house. A view of the simplest homemade wooden feeder with dimensions is shown in Fig. left. However, firstly, such a feeder does not protect food from weathering, because the space under the flat roof is blown through. Secondly, by seemingly slightly changing the configuration and proportions of the parts, it is possible to specialize the feeder quite strongly. E.g. pos. 1 in Fig. Below is public. Pos. 2 will attract shelling birds: landing on the slats protruding to the side and pulling out seeds through the lathing will give the complete illusion of the usual feeding process. Pos. 3 and 4 – with weakened blowing of food and a noticeable anti-passerine effect, for small and larger birds, respectively. Pos. 5 – almost windproof and fundamentally anti-sparrow: a sparrow that has retained its common sense will fly into this only as a last resort.

Winter bird feeders made of wood

It is more convenient and easier to make winter hanging wooden feeders from plywood and blocks of approximately 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, because... plywood outdoors, except for expensive waterproof birch, after a season or two begins to delaminate with any impregnation.

Drawings of a stationary wooden bird feeder

For example in Fig. Above is a drawing of a country, garden or forest feeder for all types of birds. A tin tray on a pole not only keeps predators out, but also serves as a dining area for sparrows. The lifting liner (it slides freely on the post) makes cleaning easier and allows birds of one species to feed from their recess, leaving others to feed. You can hang nets or cones with food for shellers on a pole under the roof, and hanging food for tits at the corners of the platform. The roof is removable and on hooks for easy maintenance.

Wooden special

Double Deck Hanging Bird Feeder

A hanging analogue of such a feeder, as they say now, with 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 sparrows are given the upper platform: these troublemakers will scatter the food anyway, so you can do without a side, although it won’t hurt.

In Fig. Below are wooden feeders, bunker and tray, which can be converted into combined ones, suitable for hullers. The fact is that in these designs, to improve the visibility of the feed, the bunkers are made with glazed windows. Replacing glass with a steel mesh with a mesh size of about 5x5 mm will allow shellers to pull out seeds while others are pecking from trays or from the platform.

Wooden bird feeders with good visibility of food

How to do without a tree

Wooden feeders look better than home-made plastic ones; they are easier to adapt to the needs of both the birds and the owner. But what to do if you don’t have woodworking tools or don’t want to start carpentry with its sawdust and shavings in the house?

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

Making a wooden board substitute from corrugated cardboard

• For each part, 2-5 blanks-plates of the same size are cut out, depending on the required thickness, but with an internal corrugation oriented alternately along and across, see fig. on right;
• Each layer is impregnated on one side and the other with a water-polymer emulsion. It is not sold in small packaging, but its full replacement is PVA diluted three to five times with water. This work should be done on a plastic film underneath;
• A day later (if the sheets were drying at room temperature), the part is glued together with PVA in the same order: corrugation along/corrugation across, see the same figure;
• The part is dried on film, the top is also covered with film and pressed down with several books, evenly covering its entire area;
• The feeder is assembled using the same PVA glue;
• After drying, the end connections are reinforced with pins made of toothpicks or pointed matches without heads: the holes for the pins are pricked with an awl from top to bottom, a drop of glue is introduced into each and the pin is immediately pressed in;
• The 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 decorated with plastic, mesh can be attached, etc.

Original feeders

Anyone who takes up tinkering wants to make something of their own, unusual and unique. Unusual feeders can be divided into original ones based on the technique of execution or some functional features and simply beautiful, designer ones. One, of course, is no hindrance to the other, if only one’s hands were in place.

The first few, let's say, technical and functional ones, are shown in the figure:

Original bird feeders

Pos. 1 – special for shellers, frugivores and large granivores. The cob is placed on a nail driven through the bottom. Here it is necessary to note that the corn should be hard, fodder or oilseed varieties, with smaller grains. Canteen sugar will be harmful to birds: its grains contain too much starch and sugars.

Pos. Doesn’t require 2 comments: over the summer I accumulated ice cream sticks, then PVA, strings, and that’s it. If you make a pole on each side, then 4 siskins or chickadees will be able to feed at once. Pos. 3 is woven from paper tubes. The work is complex and time-consuming, especially considering that they need to be properly protected from limpness. However, judging by the fact that in such a small area there are as many as 3 great tits feeding and another one is waiting in line, the birds really like this creation.

Applying a mark to the end of the cable

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

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

Decorative bird feeders

According to the execution technique, it is better to avoid varnished and shiny surfaces, as in pos. 1. On a smooth surface, it is more difficult for the claws to catch on, the grains dodge the beak, and the glare hurts the bird’s sensitive eyes.

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

Pumpkin feeders for wild birds

What to feed wild birds?

All that remains is to decide what kind of bird food to put in the feeder. The best food for all wintering birds is wild grass seeds, especially burdocks. Songbird lovers and ornithologists collect turnip seeds in the summer or buy them at pet stores. Next, in order of preference by birds and benefits for them:

Note: if it is possible to buy the so-called at a pet store. Canary seed or grain mixture for budgies is just what any bird at the feeder needs.

Wheat, rye and bread made from them should be avoided: the bird's body is not designed to process excess starch. Black bread is especially dangerous: it causes inflammation of the goiter, which often leads to the death of the bird. Completely dry white bread crumbs can be given to pigeons and fruit-eating birds. The same applies to all cereals that swell greatly during cooking: barley (barley), rice, buckwheat. As mentioned above, you need to be careful with corn. In general, one must keep in mind that wild birds are smaller than chickens and ducks, and their digestion is unaccustomed to domestic feed.

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

The best vitamin supplements, as already mentioned, are brushes and bunches of wild berries. In addition to the mentioned rowan, viburnum, and elderberry, barberries, currants, chokeberries, and junipers are also readily eaten. In the southern regions - cotoneaster, berries of “wild grapes” (cissus), boxwood. Seeds 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 supplement. You should not give whole fruits: having fed on them, even the most principled tit will not resist the temptation to peck them in the garden in the summer.

An important component of the bird's diet is mineral nutrition 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 away in the spring. Birds, like domestic chickens, also need sand. It needs to be sprinkled a little at a time, always river rounded and the smallest.

So, a certain young man with an actively destructive way of thinking in the winter heard that black bread and banana peels are killer for birds. He immediately set to work: he was not lazy and put together a feeding trough, dried and finely crushed banana peels. Then he forked out for a loaf of Borodinsky for 40 rubles. at the price at that time, I crushed it too. I mixed everything, hung up the feeder, and poured bird poison into it.

The next morning I went, anticipating the “task,” to see how many of them were lying there dead with swollen crops. 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 of trees fell from the surrounding trees and showered Grisha with “business cards.” The individual “cards” merged into a continuous blanket, and a pile formed on the head. Since then, the poor fellow carefully and cautiously avoids even flocks of sparrows on the asphalt.

Birds living in the wild need protection and care. It is especially difficult for them during winter: when it is frosty outside, it is so difficult to find shelter and food.

That is why caring people try to feed our younger “brothers” as much as possible. One of the ways that will not only help birds, but also decorate your garden is a feeder made from scrap materials.

In this article we have collected several of the most affordable options - based on descriptions and photographs, using already unnecessary items (plastic bottles or old dishes), you can easily arrange a place where flocks of birds will gather.

Material selection

After assessing the resources you have to create a feeder, you can choose an idea you like. However, it is worth remembering that not only its appearance, but also practical characteristics such as stability depend on the configuration.

That is why a good feeder must meet the following requirements:

Wear resistance and durability. Preference should be given to wood or plastic, which can withstand weather conditions without getting wet from rain and snow, or collapsing under gusts of wind.

In addition, the birds themselves often cause damage to the feeder - in search of crumbs, their beaks and claws scratch and tear fragile materials.

Proper size. Remember that if you cut out a small feeder, for example, from tetrapack, then large birds will not be able to eat from it, and small ones will start fights for space and shake out the food on the ground.

No sharp edges, protruding nails, etc. Birds are very delicate creatures, their feather protection and the skin on their legs cannot prevent cuts from sharp objects, so make sure that your feeder is not dangerous for them, especially if it is made of glass, plastic or planks!

Location and installation

Choosing the right location is extremely important!

Having chosen the most suitable position from the point of view of landscape design, evaluate:

Accessibility for birds. Perhaps the feeder will be closed from them by thick branches, or, conversely, it will be too open, and then, in a strong wind, the birds simply will not be able to get close to it.

Difficulty for cats. These animals are excellent hunters, especially those who live in villages and holiday villages. They are stronger, faster and more dexterous than their domestic counterparts, and therefore, sneaking up to the feeder, they can cause great damage to the bird community.

Ideas for making your own feeder

There are a huge number of different types of feeders - it all depends on your imagination and available materials.

We will try to consider both the simplest and the most original ideas.

House made of wood or plywood

Despite the apparent complexity, such a structure can be assembled with unnecessary boards, pieces of wood, glazing beads, plywood and, of course, special glue or nails.

Note!

The base should be a heavy, flat board. To make the walls and roof, you may need a drawing, however, you can get by with an eye.

A wooden bird feeder, depending on how much attention you pay to it, can become not only a place for birds to feed, but also an elegant decoration for your garden.

Feeder made from plastic bottles

This type of feeder is very easy to make and is perfect if you decide to involve children in the creation process. You need to cut one or two holes in the bottle so that you can not only pour in the food, but also access it without difficulty.

Of course, you should try to ensure that the cut edges come out neat and not too sharp (in addition, it is advisable to cover them with tape).

If you are using a small bottle (1.5-2 liters), then you can do it in two ways: cut a square or rectangular hole in the bottle, or prefer a U-shape so that you can bend a piece of plastic and make a visor.

If you decide to use a large bottle (5-6 liters, in which drinking water is usually sold), you can make a large side cutout. This will not only provide more food, but also give the birds room to maneuver.

Note!

To prevent the wind from ruffling a light bottle, it is worth placing a stone or a piece of brick at the bottom. This also applies to the next type of feeder.

Bird feeder made of tetra pack

You can also use juice or wine boxes to make a bird feeder.

To do this, you should follow the same technology as in the previous case: mark the location of the cut, cut it in shape, glue tape (or adhesive tape) along the bottom side of the opening, then make holes for a strong rope in the upper part of the tetra pack. All that remains is to hang the feeder in the place you choose.

Shoe box feeder

The cardboard from which the shoebox is made cannot be considered a durable material, but it is quite resistant to moisture, and if it is frosty outside, such a feeder can hang until spring.

The technology for making the feeder, as in previous cases, is also very simple: make four to six holes for the rope, slits on the sides and put a weight on the bottom for stability.

Note!

Other options

The above options are extremely popular - such feeders can be found at any dacha. If you want to make a unique feeder with your own hands, you should take unusual materials, for example, old tableware: a cup and saucer.

In the autumn, you can cut out a product from a pumpkin or zucchini; in the winter, halves of an orange, peeled from the pulp, are suitable for this. These feeders will surprise your neighbors and will undoubtedly decorate your garden!

Photo of a DIY bird feeder