There are an estimated hundred billion wild birds on earth, and every one needs to eat daily to survive. That is where we come in. Bird feeders are enjoyable to make and genuinely useful, particularly through winter.
Simple feeders
A pine cone feeder. Roll a pine cone in lard or suet, then in seed, and hang it by a string. The classic, and it takes five minutes.
A plastic bottle feeder. Cut two small holes near the base, push a wooden spoon or dowel through as a perch, fill with seed through the neck. Cut a small drainage hole in the bottom.
A milk carton feeder. Cut a large opening in one side, leaving a lip at the bottom to hold seed in. Easy for children to decorate.
A hanging tray, made from an old plate or a shallow wooden frame with mesh, for ground-feeding birds that will not use a tube.
A fat cake. Melted lard mixed with seed, oats and dried fruit, set in a yoghurt pot or a mould, then turned out and hung in a net.
What to fill them with
Sunflower hearts are the most widely eaten and produce no husk mess. Nyjer seed for finches, in a fine-mesh feeder. Peanuts in a mesh feeder – never loose in spring, when whole nuts can choke chicks. Fat and suet for winter energy.
Avoid cheap mixes full of wheat and split peas, which most garden birds will not eat and which end up on the ground attracting rodents.
Never give salted or roasted nuts, or dry hard bread.
Where to hang it
Near cover but not against it. Birds want a bush or a tree within a few feet to escape into, but not so close that a cat can wait in it.
Where you can see it, which is half the point.
High enough to be out of reach of cats – around five feet.
Away from windows, or very close to them. Feeders more than a metre or so from glass cause collisions; ones right against it do not, because birds cannot build up speed.
Keeping it clean
The part people forget, and it matters. Dirty feeders spread disease between birds.
Wash them every couple of weeks with hot soapy water, rinse well and dry before refilling. Move the feeder occasionally so droppings do not build up in one spot.
Keep going through summer
Once birds rely on a feeder they will keep coming back to it. Feeding year round is now generally recommended rather than winter only.
