Bird Feeding
So this week as I got in my car to head for work I noticed that the woodpecker on the peanut feeder was not the one I normally see. I made myself a little late to work trying to photograph this one. It's a red-bellied woodpecker which I don't remember ever seeing before. It chased off one of the resident downy woodpeckers.
Seeing that one bird made me rethink my bird feeding. I've been lazy and only last week refilled the two feeders that survived the summer intact, my platform feeder and an in-shell peanut feeder for the woodpeckers. The gears in my head made me spit this sketch out after thinking on it during the drive to work.
My goal is for it to be not permanently anchored to the ground, far enough from trees to keep most of the squirrels off, and have natural branches attached tor some better photos.
The above led me back to a library, and the only book I found was talking about making a bird feeder out of PVC pipe. I ended up going to Home Depot for materials (and to price out wood for the stand) and came home with some other stuff. I'm kind of obsessed with platform feeders, but the one I made just isn't big enough. I also didn't really like using window screen, even though the squirrels haven't ripped through it like I keep fearing.
I came home with a 24" x 12" black aluminum decorative screen, a 6 foot piece of 1" x 2" pine, and a box of eye hooks. (I already had the screws for this, but you'd need 8 - #6 1 1/4" wood screws and 12- 3/4" wood screws to do what I outline below.) This was in addition to a PVC pipe set, which I may finish tomorrow, or Saturday.
Supplies:
1 - 24" x 12" screen piece, stiff aluminum from door section of HD used here. (It was called decorative sheet metal actually)
1 - 6ft length of 1" x 2" pine board (cut to make a box fitting the size of the screen)
4 - eye hooks
8 - #6 1 1/4" wood screws
12 - #8 3/4" wood screws (varies due to holes in screen)
Close-up of the screen pattern I picked, which I think will keep most seed from falling through, but drain well.
With box assembled.
Box attached to screen.
So this week as I got in my car to head for work I noticed that the woodpecker on the peanut feeder was not the one I normally see. I made myself a little late to work trying to photograph this one. It's a red-bellied woodpecker which I don't remember ever seeing before. It chased off one of the resident downy woodpeckers.
Seeing that one bird made me rethink my bird feeding. I've been lazy and only last week refilled the two feeders that survived the summer intact, my platform feeder and an in-shell peanut feeder for the woodpeckers. The gears in my head made me spit this sketch out after thinking on it during the drive to work.
My goal is for it to be not permanently anchored to the ground, far enough from trees to keep most of the squirrels off, and have natural branches attached tor some better photos.
The above led me back to a library, and the only book I found was talking about making a bird feeder out of PVC pipe. I ended up going to Home Depot for materials (and to price out wood for the stand) and came home with some other stuff. I'm kind of obsessed with platform feeders, but the one I made just isn't big enough. I also didn't really like using window screen, even though the squirrels haven't ripped through it like I keep fearing.
I came home with a 24" x 12" black aluminum decorative screen, a 6 foot piece of 1" x 2" pine, and a box of eye hooks. (I already had the screws for this, but you'd need 8 - #6 1 1/4" wood screws and 12- 3/4" wood screws to do what I outline below.) This was in addition to a PVC pipe set, which I may finish tomorrow, or Saturday.
Supplies:
1 - 24" x 12" screen piece, stiff aluminum from door section of HD used here. (It was called decorative sheet metal actually)
1 - 6ft length of 1" x 2" pine board (cut to make a box fitting the size of the screen)
4 - eye hooks
8 - #6 1 1/4" wood screws
12 - #8 3/4" wood screws (varies due to holes in screen)
Close-up of the screen pattern I picked, which I think will keep most seed from falling through, but drain well.
With box assembled.
Box attached to screen.
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