Would you like to help feathered visitors to your garden find food in winter by building your own bird feeding silo through upcycling? Here are some ways to do it!
Making a DIY bird feeder can be not only a fun project for bird lovers, but also a sustainable and environmentally conscious one. When it comes to feeding silos, they allow for practical storage of bird food and require little maintenance and care. They are similar to feeding columns and can be easily created with a little craftsmanship from recyclable materials such as wood, metal and plastic. To create your own version, you can get inspiration from the examples below and follow some simple steps.
Which bird species will attract if you build a bird feeder yourself?
Bird feeding has many positive sides and one of them is the opportunity to observe various species of birds in your own garden. While you birdsfeed in the cold winter months, you can look forward to a more vibrant garden area without much effort. Here is some useful information about:
- Like other feeders, bird feeders of this type can be securely hung or secured and made easily accessible to feathered visitors.
- The main difference is that open versions attract several types of garden birds, while feeders are more suitable for smaller bird species.
- Some species of birds you can feed with it include robins, sparrows and titmice. These usually look for their food in trees rather than on the ground.
Given these factors, it is recommended to fill this type of feeder with smaller seeds than bird food. Otherwise, you risk large pieces getting stuck in it and blocking the feeding area. Depending on, forwhat kind of DIY feederIf you decide and its openings are large, you can also fill it with larger nuts or seeds. Below you will find some exemplary variants and tips that you can use to make such a feed silo for birds yourself.
Idea for glass and wooden feeders
Reusing old mason jars is a great way to create a DIY project like this for your garden. Such a feeding station also looks attractive and can therefore also function as a garden decoration. In addition, you can certainly find cheap preserving jars to buy if you don't have any lying around. Otherwise, you can reuse old wooden boards to make the base for the bird feeder, as well as collect the following materials and tools:
- 1 larger wooden board from which you or someone for you created 1 wooden square as a base, 2 side support boards, 4 side boards, and 1 larger wooden panel for the roof
- Rope and wire
- 1 larger mason jar with a wide neck and glass lid ring
- Saw, hole saw and drill that is slightly wider than the rope or wire
- Screws and glue to attach the lid to the base
- Non-toxic glaze or exterior wood oil, or boiled linseed oil
- Screwdriver, wood glue and wood screws, ruler, pencil and sandpaper
- suitable bird food
Build your own feeding silo for birds using wooden boards and a mason jar
- You can either cut the wooden boards yourself with the saw or have them done and then sand them with sandpaper.
- Then use the pencil to draw lines from side to side through the center of the large wooden square.
- First, use the jar's lid ring in the middle to trace its outside and inside.
- Then draw smaller circles around the drawn lid ring and use the hole saw to make the corresponding openings for the bird food on the wooden board.
- Then use sandpaper again to smooth the edges.
- Next you can glue the small side boards to the base with the wood glue and then screw them in.
- It is also necessary to drill a tiny drainage hole in the center of each opening made with the hole saw to prevent water from collecting in it.
- Now, using the lines drawn, drill 4 holes in the middle of each side of the wooden square for the support boards.
- Then make one support board shorter than the other by sawing both at an angle.
- Then attach the two support boards for the roof from below with wood glue and screws or nails and let them dry. The two support boards should be long enough to leave enough space between the mason jar and the roof.
- Then glue the larger wooden plate to the support boards and screw it shut.
- Optionally, you can drill holes for rope to hang on the roof or screw in eye hooks/hinges for attachment to the back.
- Then coat the wooden base and the remaining parts with glaze or linseed oil and let the feed silo dry for at least a day.
- The next step is to either glue the lid ring to the base or screw it in through drilled holes. Optionally, you can also cut out the lid and use it for this.
- Fill the mason jar with bird seed and hang or attach the feed silo, you can also use wire.
Use plastic containers and build a simple feed silo for birds yourself
This is another similar DIY project that is even easier to make and allows for recycling plastic. You can use a larger plastic container with a wide neck and lid, as well as an old plastic flower pot saucer. Follow the instructions below to make the feeder yourself.
- First, grab a drill or utility knife and make four or five side openings near the bottom of the plastic jar. You can also use scissors for this.
- Then drill some holes through the saucer and the bottom of the plastic container.
- Next, use some non-toxic glue and nuts and bolts to attach both pieces together. Make sure that the screws point towards the interior to avoid risk of injury. Then let everything dry.
- Next, drill two holes in the plastic lid of the container and tie a rope or thread for hanging.
- Then fill the container with suitable bird food and close it with the tied lid.
- Hang the feed silo on a higher branch or position it in a safe and secure location.
- If necessary, you can add a larger plastic plate or similar large plastic coaster to the top as a rain cover.
More ideas and tips for such bird feeders
Other materials and objects can also be repurposed using a similar principle if you want to build a bird feeder silo yourself.
- For example, you can even use clay pots with saucers for a rustic look. In this case, however, you should soak them overnight to make drilling easier.
- There is also the easy option of pushing wooden spoons through empty plastic bottles, tying them to the neck of the bottle with eye hooks and using them as bird feeders.
- If your children still have a lot of Lego bricks left over, with a little creativity they can also make a similar feeding column out of them.
- Other possible variants include wine boxes with sliding lids. These can be customized accordingly with a base, roof and wine cork to hold the lid for food donations. You can also use the wine bottle itself as a feed silo by attaching it to the corresponding wooden base.
- Use raw and unsalted seeds as bird food, although sunflower seeds and small nuts are ideal.
- Also note that it will take some time for garden birds to get used to the new feeder.
- Also make sure that the feeder is high enough so that no predators or cats can access it.
- In winter it makes sense to fill the feed silo more often with nutritious bird food to help the birds when there is a food shortage.
All in all, there are numerous affordable and creative options available to you if you want to implement such an idea. Just make sure that your crafted feeders are always clean to prevent any risks of disease and other unwanted visitors such as pigeons orRats in the gardennot to attract.
