Home Made Bird Feeders

Making your own bird feeders is a fun and interesting way of inviting your feathered friends into your garden this spring.

You can make bird feeders out of many materials you might have otherwise thrown away or recycled, such as; unwanted fruit, plastic bottles or even scraps of wood. There's a project here for everyone, regardless of your age or skill level; from young children to crafting pros.

This is a brilliant time of year to help birds and wildlife in general, getting them ready for spring and the start of the breeding season. By putting out extra food in your homemade bird feeders is a cheap and efficient way to feed birds.

Fruit Feeder

Oranges and grapefruits work best for this - all you need is string to hang and some sticks from the garden in order to provide birds a perch. Simply dig out the fruit, dry the peel, fill with any seed you wish and hang - birds will eat the seed out of the peel.

Peanut Butter Feeders

Peanut butter can be used to stick any kind of seed you have to almost anything, such as; sticks, toilet paper rolls. In fact, you can even smear peanut butter and seed right on the trunk and branches of trees as well as logs and scraps of wood.

Recycle Old Containers

With just a few materials these feeders are a great way to recycle those plastic containers and enjoy bird watching at the same time!

• Scissors


• nylon string


• bird seed


• a clear plastic bottle


• 'all purpose' glue


• plant pot saucer

1. Cut a small round hole (about the size of a 2p piece) right at the bottom of your plastic bottle, one on each side. These holes will help the bird seed spill out once you fill up the bottle- so the birds can get to the seed.


2. Next, you need to stick the base of the plastic bottle in the centre of the plant pot saucer. Ask a parent to do this for you, as you need to use extra strong glue.


3. You then need to tie nylon string around the neck of the bottle. Tie some on each side so the bottle hangs straight and even.


4. Tie all the ends of the string together in a knot, and cut off any extra string left.


5. It's then time to fill up your bird feeder with bird seed. You will notice some of the seed spilling out of the holes. This makes it easier for the birds to get to the dry seed.


6. Fill your bird feeder right to the top of the bottle, and fasten on the lid to stop rain water getting in.


7. Hang your bird feeder on a branch of a tree in your garden, or even on your washing line. Watch as different birds peck away at the seed near the holes in the bottle, you will notice more seed spilling out into the saucer.