Bird Feeder Plans & How to Build Birdhouses Is Only The Beginning!

If it is bird feeder plans info or having to do with bird feeders — You are on the right website!

You’ll discover what your backyard birds like to eat and how large their birdhouse must be, or even they will ever use a birdhouse or not.  Certainly, it is what you put out for lunch that will determine who will come to eat it.

This basic, but often overlooked fact, is what determines the type of bird feeder you will make yourself or buy online or at a store.  Some bird feeders are good for the winter and others for the summer, depending upon where you happen to live.

Discover what birds of prey can do to your favorite little friends...  and, it isn’t pretty.  We’ve been thinking of ways to provide shelter to our fair little friends, but it seems to be more heartfelt wishful thinking than a reality we can provide just yet.  Mother Nature is a powerful force.

Find out which of your bird friends (just like your people friends) just don’t get along, no matter what you do.  There are ways to try to accommodate them all, but the size of your yard is a factor as is the foliage you have.  Yep, it is just as difficult with birds as it is with people.

We are working, but aren’t quite finished yet, on an amazing chart to tell you what each bird likes to eat, or will eat.  It also includes recommendations of different foods you can buy or make to serve the birds you want to attract to your backyard.  It also has links to the types of bird feeders you can make or buy for the specific food and bird species.

We are also working on those pesky squirrels too, with bird feeders they can’t raid, but also want to bring you squirrel feeders too.  Maybe, just maybe, together we can make both our furry and our feathered friends happy.

As a special treat for Moms and Grandmas….  whenever we find them, we will bring homemade feeders and bird food ideas to your attention.  If we start them young, they will grow to love and care for their backyard friends as much as our household pets.  There is nothing more gratifying than the wonder in a child’s eyes as he or she feels the satisfaction of building, or being a part of the ultimate hanging of a brand new bird feeder or birdhouse.

Welcome to our backyard, bird watching, world….  we love it, and hope you will too.

If you are diehards like us, keep reading and looking at the other common types of bird feeder plans you can readily find.  All of these make for a fun woodworking project, if you like to make your own feeders rather than to buy them.  The most common feeder is probably the one above, the hopper feeder.  As you know, it was basically designed for the larger seeds many varieties of birds will eat.

Next lets look at the type of feeder best suited for the birds which eat insects, worms, and grubs.  This type of feeder is called a suet feeder, because the bird food it holds is beef lard or fat called suet.  This is a hard fat and can be obtained from the butcher in the grocery store.

In the colder climates during the winter months, suet feeders are excellent for most all birds because the fat intake keeps their metabolism up and makes for a warmer body.  Many of these same birds will prefer bird seed type foods in the warmer months, however.

The suet cake is stored inside a cage-like structure which allows the birds to feed while discouraging the squirrels and other animals.  Suet feeders are best when covered with a roof of some kind to protect the suet from the weather and the heat of the sun.  The plans you see here are for an upside down suet feeder.

You’ll notice these upside down suet feeder plans the protective roof, but its true highlight feature is that of being upside down.  Starlings, which are plentiful and which love suet, can chase off your backyard birds of choice by commandeering the feeder.  Starlings won’t hang upside down however and feed, so this feeder won’t attract them.  In addition, the pesky and hungry squirrel cannot hang upside down for long trying to eat the suet either.   Your other suet eaters will thank you for this type feeder.

Probably the most common type of feeder for many types of bird feed is the platform or tray feeder.  Sometimes they come with a roof, sometimes not.  Many times this type feeder will sit atop a pole, or will hang from the branches of a tree.  This feeder is easiest to keep filled with food, but it is also the kind of feeder you should check and clean daily.  As the birds feed and walk all over their food, they leave droppings which can cause the other birds to fall ill.

This versatility though, will allow you to place large pieces of fruit upon the tray, as well as a wide variety of other food.  This offers the bird watcher the treat of seeing different kinds of birds frequent the feeder throughout the day.

As you might also appreciate, for the woodworking beginner, without a doubt, this is the easiest feeder to make.  As you can see from the plans, it is little more than a board which either attaches to a pole from a central point or one which hangs from four corners from above.  Keeping in mind the need to clean this feeder, you’ll need to be sure it is low enough to the ground for it to be easily reached.  In my experience too, it is easier to clean the hanging platform or tray feeder because it can be easily tipped and wiped off.

The tube feeder, sometimes referred to as the songbird feeder, is a tall, narrow tube-like feeder with small holes in the sides and small perches which are fairly close together.  There is no tray to catch food at the bottom and therefore the larger birds have no place to land which could support them.  These smaller birds fit in between the perches comfortably and the small holes are just right for them to reach in with their beaks for some smaller bird seed.

Birds that will frequent your tube feeder are gold finches, house finches and siskins.  Gold finches really prefer the small thistle seed or niger as do the purple finches.  Tube feeders are designed for these smaller seeds to keep them from blowing away.  Tube feeders save on bird seed costs too, because messy eaters can’t get but just a mouthful at the time, and there are only so many limited perches that offer a way to feed.  Depending on the number of birds which frequent your feeder, this food may several weeks before needing a refill.

One other type feeder, while not as common, seems to really be gaining popularity.  It is the window feeder.  Here is an example of some bird feeder plans for this box type feeder which is left open on the end next to the window.  When the birds are feeding and you are sitting by the window, it is really interesting to watch.

As you can see from a woodworking project standpoint of view, it is nothing more than a box with open ends.  It is important to note however, you should make the top as if it were a lid to be lifted off at will.  You will find this particularly handy when it is time to clean this feeder.  This feeder should be cleaned fairly frequently too, because all of the feed is on the flat surface of the floor exactly like the tray feeder.  Again, health endangering bird droppings will invariably end up the bird food.

This type feeder will require some minimal alterations to the side of the house under the window where the feeder is placed.  You’ll find, for these plans at least, that two L-brackets are required to be nailed or screwed onto the side of the house to act as the bracing foundation which holds the feeder out from the window.

Other well known types of feeders that don’t necessarily require plans are the hummingbird nectar type feeders made from glass or plastic, and the peanut butter feeders which are commonly made from a log with holes routed into the sides.  Hummingbird feeders are filled with a nectar type mixture or just plain sugar water.  As to the peanut butter log feeder, you simply fill the routed out holes in the log with peanut butter for the birds who love nuts or suet.

We will always cover our first mission, which is to provide you with woodworking plans to make your own feeders, but we also know from our readers, they want more than just bird feeder plans.  With those marching orders, you will find a selection of ready-made bird feeders as well as information on the varieties of birds you are likely to see where you live, along with the foods those birds prefer or will at least eat.

We sincerely hope you enjoy the site, and if you have any suggestions you think would make the site even better, please, go to our “contact us” page and drop us an email!

Thanks for joining us,