a feeder to bring birdsong to your garden
Be entertained by feathered friends enticed to your garden by Marsha Smith’s bird feeder.
WHAT YOU NEED
l Timber, 19mm thick x 115mm wide; cut two lengths, 30cm and 14cm, for each feeder using a handsaw, or ask a local hardware store to cut it for you
l Ruler and pencil
l 3 flat-head nails, approximately
40mm long
l Hammer
l Sandpaper
l Wire and wire-cutting pliers
l Hot glue and glue gun
l Glass bottle, 600ml, with wired top (7cm diameter x 25cm high) or similar l 2 eyelet screws
l Rope, approximately 50cm per feeder l Terracotta pot saucer, approximately 11cm diameter or slightly less
l Drill and 3mm drill bit
l Birdseed
l Resene tape and testpot paint brush We used two Resene colours for each feeder (from left):
Resene Nourish with Resene Aura
Resene Time After Time with Resene Half Dusted Blue
Resene Just Dance with Resene Soulful
1 Measure and cut two lengths of timber, one 30cm long and the other 14cm long. The longest piece will be the backing support for the bottle and the shorter piece the base for the saucer.
2 Place the longer piece of timber on top of the shorter one to create an L-shape. Hammer three nails spread evenly across the edge of the short piece to secure both pieces together (pic 1).
3 Measure and mark four holes and drill (see pic 2 and diagram below). These holes will be used to thread the wire through and secure the bottle.
4 Paint two coats of the darker Resene colour on the timber bird feeder, for example Resene Time After Time. Allow to dry between coats. Paint the saucer with two coats of the lighter colour, for example Resene Half Dusted Blue (pic 3).
5 Once dry, measure 2.5cm in from the ends along the top edge of the long piece and screw the eyelets into place (pic 4). Cut a piece of rope approximately 50cm long and thread each end through the eyelet, securing with a double knot.
6 Use a small amount of hot glue to glue the saucer to the base of the feeder. Push it up against the back of the feeder so there is no gap (pic 5).
7 Remove the wire arm of the bottle that has the stopper attached, leaving the part that’s fixed to the bottle. Use pliers to cut two pieces of wire 20cm long, then fold in half like a hairpin. Thread through the loop (pic 6) on both sides of the bottle. (This means you’ll have a doubled piece of wire to thread through each of the lower pre-drilled holes.) Cut another wire piece 30cm long and bend into an arch.
8 Threequarter fill the bottle with birdseed (a funnel or similar is very useful for this). Place a piece of tape over the mouth of the bottle to stop the seed from falling out while you position it (pic 7).
9 Turn the bottle upside down and place it right in the centre between the drilled holes. Thread the wire through the holes and twist at the back to hold the bottle firmly in place. The mouth of the bottle should sit only a few centimetres above the saucer. If the gap is too big the birdseed will flow out of the bottle too quickly and it is likely to overflow. Once you have hung the feeder, remove the tape. Just enough seed should begin to fall as your feathery friends start to nibble.