Making your own bird feeders

As if there weren't plenty of Big Learning in the bird-feeder construction process, I'm finding that there's even more to come after hanging the feeder up, as long as I see the feeder as a work in progress rather than a completed project.

Recently I did a workshop for families, "Big Learning at the Bird Feeder." In preparation, I created a new bird feeder design for the families to build together at the workshop. My constraints were as follows:

• The parts had to be very inexpensive
• No cutting necessary (so children could safely do nearly all the building themselves)
• Strong, sturdy (so kids wouldn't hate me because their bird feeders fell apart on day one)
• Reasonably weatherproof

So I came up with a very sturdy design that used a disposable plastic plate, a recycled plastic bottle, four pipe cleaners, and three pieces of packing tape. See the photos on my site for a similar feeder made with wire.

But here's the part that was really fun for me. I hung my new feeder outside next to my store-bought feeder and watched it carefully for a week. To my dismay, the birds seemed to much prefer the store-bought feeder. I have four hypotheses about why this was so:

1. The store-bought feeder has a wire cage surrounding it to keep out squirrels. This cage gives the birds many places to grab onto during landing. My home-made feeder is short on perches.
2. The wire cage on the store-bought feeder may make the birds feel safe within.
3. The store-bought feeder is heavier - maybe the birds like the stability.
4. The store-bought feeder is the kind with holes that the birds peck seeds from. On my home-made feeder, the birds peck the seeds lying on the plate. Maybe the birds at my feeders prefer the former delivery system.

I decided to test hypothesis 1 by adding more perches to my feeder - sticks sticking out from the plate like spokes on a wheel. Imagine my thrill when I saw the birds actually using my perches! I have yet to test the other three hypotheses.

Because my feeder is a work in progress, I'm paying more attention to the birds and their habits and preferences than I otherwise might have.

You can find more bird feeding info on the Big Learning Bird Watching page.