Birds

We have many varieties of birds around here. I've noticed them while on walks and in the parks. So making some bird feeders seemed like a good idea. Not wanting to spend a lot of money on this project, I did some research and came up with this bird feeder.


    

I needed to buy some things for this project. The two bowls and tray came from Goodwill. I went a few days after Christmas and got them for 75% off-of Goodwill prices! I spent a dollar at that store. We also need something to go down the middle to hold it all together. Mr UAW said we needed something called "all thread" at the hardware store. Along with the nuts and eye screw we spent a about $3.70. The wire was something that the previous home owners left behind. We also had some paracord on hand to hang it from the tree. So now I've spent $4.70 on the feeder itself. The cheapest way to buy black oil sunflower seeds was in a 40 lb bag-$19.99. The bag will hopefully last a while. We hung it up and waited...for the squirrels! Not wanting to feed squirrels we did some adjustments. First we had it too close to the tree trunk-move it out. Then they found a branch to help them hop on to it-cut off the branch. Then they discovered they could climb down the paracord. The dome lid did nothing to deter them. So...more research. We came up with 1" PVC pipe. If cut in about 10 inch lengths, the paracord threaded thru them, and shortening wiped on the outside of them-the squirrels were deterred. It was just too wobbly for the squirrels to climb down. So add another $1.58 to the cost for a total of $6.28 for the feeder itself, still cheaper than the stores.

I also bought some Nyjer seed. This seed attracts the smaller birds-Finches (4 different varieties in our area) and Pine Siskins.

Then I decided to make suet feeders. I could easily make them from wire that was left here by the previous home owners. I used our staple gun for attaching the scrapes of wood to the sides. There is a flap at the top of each of these that I can open to insert the suet. Making the suet was an easy process and cheaper than the store. I didn't break down the cost for this post.

   

Now I need it be able to identify the birds that come. We went to a local bird store and we checked out bird sites on the internet for our area. So far we have seen Black-capped Chickadees, Dark-eyed Juncos, California Scrub-Jays, Stellar's Jays, and Varied Thrush. During last summer I saw Robins and Hummingbirds. I have a hummingbird feeder and hope to attract some this summer. That's in addition to the squirrels. I think we just have Eastern Gray Squirrels and Eastern Fox Squirrels.

I'd like to get pictures of these birds. I'll have to work on that and keep you all posted on how this turns out.