Do it Yourself Birdfeeders

Attract feathered friends to your yard with bird feeders filled with tempting seeds or suet. Instead of the unimaginative bird feeders that can be purchased ready-made from the store, put your mind to work to make creative bird feeders out of a variety of different materials.

  1. Bottle Feeder

    • An empty 2-liter bottle can make a useful and sturdy bird feeder.

      Wash the inside and outside of the bottle well, and remove as much of the label as possible. If there is a plastic bottom attached to the outside of the soda bottle, remove it.

      Drill two 1/8-inch-wide holes several inches apart in the center of the bottom of the soda bottle. These will be used to thread wire through for hanging the bird feeder.

      Drill four 5/16-inch holes in the sides of the bottle for perches. Make two holes directly across from each other and slide one dowel through two opposite holes. Make another two holes either slightly above the first two holes or slightly below so that the second dowel can be slid through these holes. Drill feeding holes above the perch holes. Make the feeding holes approximately the same size as the perch holes if the bird feeder will be used for sunflower seeds. The feeding holes can be smaller to use the feeder for niger seed.

      Use a wire coat hanger and clip off a section long enough to bend and twist into a hanger for the top of the bird feeder. Thread the wire through one hanging hole and through the second. Twist the wire to make it into a loop for hanging.

      Fill the bird feeder through the opening and twist the bottle cap on securely.

    Paper Towel Roll

    • Make a quick and easy millet roll out of an empty paper-towel roll, peanut butter and millet.

      Punch a hole one inch from each end of the paper towel roll and thread a 20-inch length of twine through both holes. Tie the ends of the twine together securely to make a loop for hanging the feeder.

      Spread peanut butter generously over the entire outside edges of the paper towel roll. Press the peanut butter-covered roll into millet seed to cover it with millet. Hang the bird feeder from a tree branch and watch to see if it attracts chickadees and house finches.

    Suet Feeder

    • Find a log that is approximately 1 1/2 feet long and 4 inches thick. Bore several holes through the branch. The holes should be 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter. Fill the holes with suet.

      Screw eye hooks into each end of the log and thread a 20-inch length of twine through the eye hooks. Tie the ends of the twine together to make a hanging loop and hang the suet feeder from the branch of a tree.