Bird Feeder Plans – Choosing You Favorite Bird Feeder Design

Bird feeders plans are wonderful to help you build your favorite bird feeders. There is nothing like bird feeders to make your garden or backyard come to life and attract many species of birds. There are several different models for you to build if you want to attract specific kinds of birds.

Suet Feeders

This is a great bird feeder to attract bigger birds such as chickadees, cardinals, woodpeckers or blue jays. Suet is actually a piece of animal fat that you put inside a container covered with wire. The holes has to be big enough to allow the birds to pick at the fat. This is great food to feed the birds during the winter months.

Building a suet bird feeder is easy with two small plates of wood attached together with 6 inches long wood sticks, a rope to hang it with and some wire with holes of a half of an inch wrapped around the sticks, creating a caged area on the middle to put the suet.

Hopper Feeders

This is the most often sen bird feeder and it is easy to build one in any version you like. A large platform at the bottom can keep the seeds from falling on the ground and get wasted. The design consist in a little house with walls and a liftable roof for easy refilling. Making small openings allow the seeds to spill slowly onto the bottom tray.

This kind of feeder attract a lot of different variety of birds such as blue jays but also squirrels, especially if they are suspended under a tree. Try to put your feeder in a place where the squirrels cannot access it too easily.

Tube Feeders

The tube feeders you can buy at the stores are made of plastic and will not last very long. Soon the plastic will break with the cold and you will have to get new ones. Building one with wood is a great idea. To do so build a long rectangle box and drill one inch holes all around it. Adding perched under the holes will attract a large variety of small birds that cannot cling as easily as woodpeckers and finches can.

To attract larger birds, attach a bottom tray under the tube to collect the seed to they will land and feed there.

There are many more models you can make yourself for a fraction of the cost of what they sell for in retail stores.

Hummingbird Bird Feeders – Choosing the right one for your garden

Hummingbirds are beautiful as well as amazing to watch and many bird watchers and gardeners are keen to attract them in to their backyards. Specially designed hummingbird feeders are the best way to do this as they provide the very hard working hummingbird with an easy, quick source of food.

Hummingbirds diet consists of mostly of sugary nectar, pollen and small insects. They have a very high metabolism and need to consume lots of sugar to keep active throughout the day.

Hummingbird feeders come in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes but there are essentially two main types of bird feeders , the saucer feeder and the inverted feeder. The saucer feeder is basically a dish that is filled with a sugary liquid, hummingbirds feed on this nectar through specially designed feeding holes. The saucer feeders are often smaller (and usually cheaper) than inverted feeders and are generally easier to clean, however they need to be refilled more often and depending on their size might not be that obvious to the hummingbirds.

Inverted feeders are larger (and often more expensive) , more visible to visiting birds and donâ??t require regular refilling. However inverted feeders can be difficult to clean and are poor quality feeders are prone to leaking.  Although there are advantages and disadvantages for both types of feeders most people choose the inverted feeders as they tend to be more effective in attracting hummingbirds. As well as deciding on the type of feeder, consider the following factors when deciding which hummingbird feeder to purchase.

Look for a feeder that is built using some red materials. Hummingbirds are attracted to red objects and are more likely to use your feeder if itâ??s got a red base or tube.  Also choose a feeder that is easy to clean and refill. Hummingbird feeders should be refilled twice a week or possibly more depending on the number of Hummingbirds in your garden.  Larger feeders are generally easier to clean and there are special brushes that can help make the cleaning process easier.

Its worth investing in a feeder that has one or more perches on it. Although it is fascinating to watch a hummingbird hover while feeder it uses a lot of energy and are more likely to feed if you provide a perch for them to rest on.

The sugary liquid in your feeder will obviously attract many insects including wasps if it leaks out of the feeder.  Many feeders have built in ant and bee protectors or you can purchase them to fit your bird feeders.

Once you have got your hummingbird feeders select a visible spot that is in the sun and ideally near a flower bed. It may take a while before you see hummingbirds and a little longer before they feel confident enough to feed using your bird feeders. After a while you maybe able to bring the feeder closer to the house so you can view from a window, however do not place too close to the window otherwise the Hummingbirds may fly in to the window and injure themselves.

Once your bird feeders are in place and filled with a sweet sugary solution, sit back and wait for these beautiful birds to start feeding â?? it is worth all the effort when you see the Hummingbirds feeing in your backyard.

Choosing Squirrel Proof Bird Feeders

Squirrel proof bird feeders allow your birds to co-exist happily with the squirrels by stopping the squirrels from stealing the bird seed from your bird feeders.

Before investing in squirrel proof bird feeders you can try a few techniques to encourage the squirrels to leave your feeders alone. Position your bird feeders in areas well away from trees to stop the animals jumping on to your feeders and ensure your feeder is at least 5 foot off the ground (although squirrels have been known to jump up to 8 feet off the ground!).  If these tips don’t discourage squirrels, there are two options either purchase an attachment to make your existing bird feeders squirrel proof or buy a specially design squirrel proof bird feeder. You will usually have more success if you buy a squirrel proof feeder rather than trying to retro fit a device to your existing bird feeders.

There are now a wide variety of good quality and effective squirrel proof bird feeders available on the market and they come in a range of styles and shapes. There is a squirrel proof version for almost every type of bird feeder.

Some of the simple designs feature a dome shaped device over the top of the feeder. This is used in bird feeders that are designed to hang from trees and ensures that squirrels are not able to grip on the bird feeder and simply slide off before they can reach the food. They tend to be quite large and can put off certain birds from using your feeder. Clear Perspex baffles are the most effective as birds as still able to see the food inside the feeder when flying overhead.

Metal cages are becoming more popular lately and can be retro fitted to some bird feeders as well. Essentially they consist of a tubular feeder which has an extra cage around it. This allows the birds to use their beaks to reach the seed however the holes between the wires are not large enough for squirrels to bite through.

The most advanced, expensive and entertaining options are the motorized or weighted devices.  The weighted devices either close the feeding hole or tip the perch over when something heavier than a bird perches on them.  Most bird feeders are used by small birds, however if you have large birds using your bird feeders just check their weight won’t cause the feeder to close or tip over. Some of the motorized devices even start to spin around when a squirrel tries to use them, this doesn’t harm the creatures but soon stops them coming back and trying again!

Another option is to buy a purpose built squirrel house and squirrel feeder and encourage your squirrels to use this rather than your bird feeders. Of course this may encourage more squirrels to use your garden but many bird lovers find this is an effective option and allows both species to co-exist peacefully together.

When choosing squirrel proof bird feeders look for materials that are guaranteed again squirrel damage and are built from quality, durable materials.