DIY do-it-yourself bird feeder. Ideas for creating bird feeders from improvised materials

Winter is approaching and our birds will need to survive it. Let's take care of them! Consider several options for how to make a feeder with your own hands.

1. The feeder should be with a roof, since rain can wet the feed or fill it with snow.
2. The opening of the feeder should be wide - the birds are afraid of an enclosed space.
3. Choose a practical, moisture-resistant material to make the feeder.
4. The feeder should not be too light, as it is swayed by the wind and the feed may crumble. If it turned out to be too light - make it heavier. This can be done using a piece of plywood or linoleum. Put it to the bottom of the feeder strictly in size.

Wood feeder

You will need:  hacksaw, hammer, nails, plywood, bars 2: 2 cm, thin wooden board.

Master Class

Blueprints

Drawing No. 1

Drawing No. 2

Drawing number 3

We present to your attention several options for the drawings of manufacturing a bird feeder from a tree. You can create an ordinary feeding trough-dining room, a small castle or just a birdhouse. And if you are a jack of all trades, then the feeder can be decorated with woodcarvings, creating beautiful patterns.

Grain Feeders

You will need: feed (raw), egg, oatmeal, flour, honey, gelatin, thick cardboard, scissors, a dense thread, pencil, needle, molds.

Recipe number 1

1. Draw on a cardboard any figure. It can be a heart, a circle, a triangle, a square ...
2. Cut with scissors.
3. Pass the thread into the needle, and make a hole in the cardboard figure creating a fastener.
4. Prepare the glue. To do this, mix: 2 tablespoons of oatmeal, egg, 1 teaspoon of honey and a little flour.
5. Leave the mixture for 30 minutes.
6. Apply glue to the cardboard base.
7. Mix the grain mixture with the glue mass.
8. Apply the mixture on a cardboard base.
9. Put the grain feeders in the refrigerator for several hours.

Recipe number 2

1. Dissolve a bag of gelatin in warm water.
2. Pour the feed into it.
3. Put the mass in the molds.
4. Insert the threads for fastening.
5. Put in the refrigerator for a few hours.
6. Hang treats on tree branches.

Candy Box Feeder

You will need:  2 candy boxes, glue, 2 laces.

Master Class

1. Spread the edges of the box with glue.
2. Insert the edge of the box into another box in such a way as to make a triangle.
3. Glue the base of the box to the triangle.
4. Let dry for 10 minutes.
5. Pass the string through the roof of the box.
6. Tie a knot.
7. Tie a feeder to a tree branch with a second string.

Juice Box Feeder

You will need:  box of juice or milk, scissors, lace.

Master Class

Plastic feeder

You will need:  5-6 liter plastic bottle, scissors, wire.

Master Class

1. Take the bottle and scissors.
2. Step 3 cm from the bottom of the bottle up and cut a rectangular window.
3. Put a piece of plywood or linoleum exactly the size of the bottom of the bottle.
4. Take the wire, wrap the neck of the bottle.
5. Attach a feeder to a tree branch.

Birdseed

Making a feeding trough is great, but you should know exactly what you can put there.

Birds can be fed  raw seeds, millet, oats, millet, buckwheat, crumbs of stale white rolls, small pieces of dried fruits, mountain ash, viburnum.

Birds cannot be fed  crumbs of fresh white and rye bread, pastries, cakes, chips, salted and fried seeds, nuts and oatmeal.

Thanks to your care, the birds will survive in the winter. In turn, they will please you in the spring with their songs. Birds are very important, as they not only pleasing to the eye, but also perform a huge sanitary-improving work!

Bird feeders in winter help save birds from hunger. However, this is not the only reason it is worthwhile to engage in their manufacture.

By themselves, beautiful and original feeders can become a unique decoration for your garden.

And the process of their creation instills in the younger generation a sense of responsibility and concern for weak creatures.

In addition, this is an invaluable time that allows parents to spend time with interest and benefit with their children.

Wood Bird Feeders

There are several types of feeders that can be made from wood. Firstly, these are feeders that look like a base made of plywood or other similar material with sides at the edges, preventing the feasts from crumbling.

Most often, this design is suspended from a tree branch on thick ropes.

But such a feeder has a number of disadvantages. The most obvious is that this design does not protect the feed poured into it in any way from precipitation and bad weather. It is also light enough and can move or roll over with the wind.

The second version of the feeders made of wood is more like a house and has a roof. In such feeders the food is reliably protected from the weather. The basis of the design looks the same as in the first version, only on it are the supports that support the roof.

The roof can be either straight or have a pitched construction. Any child can make a direct roof, because in fact it is a rectangular piece of sing plywood, only a little larger than the base.

The pitched roof has a slightly more complicated structure, but it is better in that it, unlike a straight roof, does not accumulate snow on it and it does not have to be cleaned periodically.

There are also original versions of feeders made of wood. For example, a feeder can be made from ordinary logs. To do this, you will need a chainsaw, a chisel and a hammer, as well as a chain and rings for hanging.

First you need to saw off two logs from the log on both sides of the future feeding trough. Then the wedges are cut along the entire log, and longitudinal and transverse cuts are made, not reaching even the bark of about 5 centimeters.

This is necessary so that later it is easier to remove the middle from the workpiece with a chisel. After all the work has been completed, the previously cut kruglyash are beaten on both sides of the feeder.

It remains only to screw the rings and attach the chain on which it will be possible to hang the feeder.

Plastic bottle feeders

For feeding birds, plastic bottles are also used as feeders. It can be either 5-6 liter containers or small 1.5-2 liter bottles.

Most often, a plastic bottle is turned into a feeder by cutting several windows in the body.

Then such feeders are suspended horizontally or vertically depending on the design. For the convenience of birds, cross poles are installed near the bottom of the feeder.

But sometimes you can find quite original feeders, which provide for the automatic addition of feed. These are the so-called bunker feeders.

Such a feeder may consist of two wooden spoons inserted obliquely into the through holes in the bottle. Thus, the feed from the bottle will gradually spill out onto the spoon.

A bunker feeder can be made from a 2 liter bottle. To do this, it is enough to cut the bottle in half, make round holes at the bottom, and turn the top over and put the neck down. The top can be covered with a lid or a disposable plate. In such a feeder for a long time it will not be necessary to add food.

Handy materials for creating bird feeders

The simplest feeder that you can think of is a garland of mountain ash, cones or berries. Feeding on a rope for birds will adorn young trees in the garden. The only drawback of such a feeder is that as the food is eaten, the garland loses its appearance.

An interesting solution would be the manufacture of a feeder in the form of lumps with grain or seeds. Such ornaments can be placed on benches, tables or simply hung on trees in nets, in which tangerines are usually sold in the store.

They are based on fat or gelatin. Melt the fat and add the main feed to it. Then the finished substance is poured into molds (it can be baking dishes or a regular balloon) and placed in a cold place for solidification.

Also come with dissolved gelatin mixed with grain.

If you have a coconut shell lying around, then it can also be used to make a feeder.

As a result, this design will be invisible on the tree. Boxes made from juice or milk are also suitable for making feeders. Their very design will not differ much from simple feeders made of plastic bottles.

Photos of bird feeder ideas

Winter is on its nose; it’s harder for poor birds to get their own food every day. Let us help them, at the same time we will teach our children kindness and mercy, caring for our smaller brothers. Grateful little birds in return will please you with unpretentious, but cheerful songs, as well as sketches from their bird life. If you put a video camera next to the feeder, you can eventually get an exclusive storyline in the style of "In the world of animals" and show it at school in a lesson from the outside world or biology. In general, in this article we decided to talk about what should be a bird feeder, which you make yourself. We will offer a description and photo.

Making a simple do-it-yourself feeder

First of all, examine the alleged material, from which you plan to make a feeder, and estimate your capabilities. Also consider some design requirements:

• Remember, it should be comfortable for birds, as well as for filling and taking out food.
• It should have protection against wind and rainfall, the wind can simply carry the food out, and the rainfall will cause freezing or mold of the food, which is also inconvenient for birds.
• The material from which the feeder is made must be moisture resistant so that it does not have to be repaired or repaired several times during the winter.
• There should not be sharp edges and corners on it, so as not to injure the birds.
• If small birds are supposed to be fed, then a small feeder should be made so that large and aggressive birds do not rob it and scare away small birdies.
• It’s better to place your feeder on tree branches or fix it on the walls of a house or household. buildings, not less than one and a half meters from the ground, so that the cats did not get there, and it was convenient for you to replenish feed supplies.

Plywood option.

Of course, you can buy it ready in the hypermarket. But to make it yourself, and even together with the children - what could be better if the sons help you, and the daughters look with different eyes at such a handmade father! Moreover, there are no difficulties here. It can be made closed, open, with a gable roof. On the Internet you can easily find any drawings with ready-made sizes and patterns. Choose any!

For small birds, you need to take into account the size of the structure, so that it would not even have occurred to large gluttonous crows to poke in there, it will simply be very inconvenient for them.

1. So, prepare a jigsaw, hammer, suitable carnations, sandpaper, water-based glue, plywood, 20X20 cm block for work. Let's start with the simplest option.
2. We make the bottom 25X25 cm, and the roof is larger so that the water flows down without getting inside. The remaining details on the patterns are marked on plywood.
3. Sandpaper necessarily skins properly sawn edges, so that there would be no burr.
4. We saw a bar into 4 racks 25-30 cm long.
5. If you plan to make the roof flat at a slope, then make 2 bars of 4 shorter by a couple of cm, and at a slope.
6. First we glue all the connecting places with glue, and then fasten with cloves. We attach racks to the bottom, and sides to them.
7. On top of the racks we fasten the roof with screws.
8. Now it remains to fix the feeder in the chosen place, and fill in the treats there.

Options for a wooden feeder.

This is a more durable material. If you have the skills to work with wood and tools for its processing - feel free to get down to business. A work board will need a thickness of 18 - 20 cm, in addition, prepare a block of 4.5X2 cm, a square piece of plywood 25X25 cm (bottom of the feeder), and for the roof 2 pieces of 35X22 cm. And also self-tapping screws, glue and cloves.

Homemade - a feeder from a milk bag / box.

Here we talk about how to make a bird feeder. The next option is the most elementary. He is too tough for a child. We take:

• A clean bag / box of juice or milk.
• Nylon wire or rope for hanging.
• Marker.
• Adhesive plaster.
• Stationery knife or scissors.

First we outline and cut openings for birds on opposite sides. We protect the cut edges with a band-aid so that the birds do not cripple. We pierce holes under the holes and insert the scraps from the holes for the birds folded into the tubes there, and above the holes we make holes for the wire or rope for hanging. We fix our feeder on a branch.

It can also be attached to a tree, but then you need to make holes not from opposite sides, but from close ones, to facilitate the approach of birds.

There is an option of a feeder from two packages, it turns out triangular in shape. We cut the first packet 2/3 and cut the front side at the bottom, it will be the bottom. And we cut the second package from the bottom along the narrow sides, but do not touch the top. Now we combine both parts and fix them with glue or tape.

From 1.5 - 2 liter bottles, feeders are also obtained.

Option 1.  On opposite sides of the bottle, cut out holes of arbitrary shape. When cutting openings in the shape of the letter P, you can bend up the undercut part, you get a canopy from the rain. From below, it is imperative to glue the adhesive tape or tape from damage to the bird's legs on the cuts. In the bottom you can make holes and insert sticks, it will perch.

It can also be attached to a tree, and hung on the branches, if you tie a rope in knots in the holes on the inside of the lid in the holes to make a loop that you need to put on the branches.

Option 2  The feeder is a bunker. The most suburban option if you visit there only on weekends. Then it will not be necessary to monitor the replenishment of feed every day, he will fall asleep gradually as he eats.

To do this, take a couple of identical bottles. We make holes near the bottom of one bottle. The upper part is removed. At the top we cut a symmetrical pair of holes for further hanging. At the second bottle, we make several holes at the neck, a supply of feed will be poured there. Large holes should not be made right away, then expand them as needed. Now we fall asleep actually, feed, insert into the first cropped bottle.

Option 3  Spoon feeder. We make holes in the lid and insert a rope in the form of a loop there. Next, we make symmetrical holes for the spoons. From the side of the cup we make a larger hole, so that there would be the possibility of a rash of food. It remains to fill and hang the feeder.

At the bottom of any bottle feeder, it is advisable to make several small-sized holes with a hot needle or nail to remove moisture.

Five-liter bird feeder.

Bird feeders can be created not only from wood. For you, we offer products that have been created from other available materials. The feeder looks very interesting for birds from a plastic bottle. Spend one evening and feed the birds all winter - is this not a useful activity for a rainy autumn evening! Five liters is in every house, and a considerable number of birds can easily get enough of such a capacity. The main thing is to make more holes.

The whole family can take part in the manufacturing process, you need to prepare a pruner, bottle, knife, wire or rope to fix on a tree.

First, decide how the feeder will be attached to the tree, then mark future holes.

If it is placed vertically, then we retreat from the bottom 5-7 cm and make several square or triangular holes.

If horizontally, then we cut wide holes in the neck and in the bottom of the bottle.

A wire or twine will perfectly fix the feeder on the tree. In order that the wind would not swing it, it is possible to put a quarter of a brick on the bottom, and already feed on top.

Such a large bottle can also be adapted as a hopper version. Then, in addition to the 5-liter, you will need 2 1.5-liter bottles, a marker, a knife and a rope.

• We mark the holes for the birds on a 5 - liter bottle, a couple, and one larger for one and a half liter bottles.
• We make the hole for the bottle P-shaped, bend the visor upwards, and seal the cuts with adhesive tape.
• At a one and a half liter bottle we make holes in the places of contact with the bottom of five liters and even a little higher, to spill the feed to the bottom as needed.
• We cut a hole in the cover of five liters so that the neck of a half liter bottle would peep out.
• From the second one and a half liter we cut off the neck in the form of a funnel, and dress it in the protruding neck of the first 1.5 liters.
• Everything is ready, it remains to fix the bird's dining room on the tree.

An excellent feeder will come from a shoe box.

A shoe box or a box of similar size, which can be laminated from cardboard, is suitable for making a feeder. There is already everything here - the roof, bottom, walls, there is minimal work left - cut through the necessary holes and attach to the tree. Here you need a stationery knife, a marker and tape with a cord. In the absence of lamination, adhesive tape will help protect the feeder from the weather. The bottom must be weighted with sand or pebbles, so that it would not swing by the wind, and having poured food, hang it on a tree.

There is another option - we fasten the lid with adhesive tape perpendicular to the inside of the box, the lid will be actually a table with food, and the box with a roof and a side. We make a hook from the wire, and having pierced the top of the feeder, we hang it from the chosen place. It remains to pour food and arm yourself with a camera or camcorder!

Scientists now clearly agree that there are no harmful birds at all. Even such arrogant crooks as gray crows and cormorants benefit, as it turned out, still a lot more than harm. The documented attacks of the bearded eagle and the lamb on climbers were caused by the fact that climbers were approaching their nests; A brood is a brood, it needs to be protected. The second, in which experts are unanimous, is that in winter, a bird feeder is needed in residential areas. Many of the smallest and most useful of them do not make regular flights, but take fodder migrations in winter. Near human habitation, fodder lands stay in abundance longer than in the wild, and when the real cold weather breaks down, there will not be enough energy to fly: there will be nothing to profit from on the way.

If you describe the bird in one word, then it will be a movement. Birds, when adverse conditions hibernate or otherwise save their own energy resources, do not exist and cannot exist: adaptation of an organism to flight requires a high metabolic rate. If the bird is hungry and / or cold, it is more and more worried, looking for something to nibble on. At the same time, it does not weaken until it falls, numb, under the feet of a passer-by. Take it to veterinarians - maybe they do. But it’s better, after spending a little work, to build a feeding trough for the winter with your own hands; almost any household waste or scrap will do.

Wild birds in the winter on feeders

Gardeners, gardeners and summer residents who visit their site in the winter will be of great benefit from this: even grain-eating birds, sparrows, for example, brood are fed with insects. In the spring, just in time for the hatching of the chicks, the pests wake up and activate. If you make a bird feeder in the autumn and feed a useful community on the site, see fig., The costs of plant protection products will be much less. The bird feeders, let the reader know, can be made attractive to some species of birds and not very convenient to others, which are less useful. How exactly - this is the focus of this article. Not to the detriment, let us hope, of other aspects of the issue, such as materials, cheaper or even free-of-charge, design, etc.

What to be a feeding trough?

Imagine first a feeder project. Let’s imagine it, because you don’t need to draw it up on paper and mess with it in the offices with serious uncles and corrosive aunts. But, firstly, you need to know where and why there will be a winter bird's canteen: in the city, outside the city, for temporary feeding during the cold or for the constant cultivation of useful helpers. Secondly, who will we feed? Whom to let forward, and who unobtrusively ask to wait? For example, if others have a bad time, sparrows, crows and pigeons will surely be killed. They have long made friends with a man and they will find something to profit from in the most ferocious nourishment, and in the country house or in the estate from other birds there will be more sense.

Having decided on the "circle of the desired clientele", we choose the design of the feeder.  Not only do birds not eat the same thing, they take food in different ways: from the ground or from an extensive, solid, even support, from thick branches, twigs, and tree trunks, clinging to them with claws, from swaying thin twigs and blade of grass; The design of the feeder should provide the advantage of access to feed to the desired guests We don’t mean birds taking food from the summer, they are all migratory. After that, we will choose the material for the feeder, preferably free, and only it will show how to make it. Such here is about PPR (work plan).

Who will feed?

As already mentioned, sparrows, pigeons, and especially the raven, need to be brave from the feeder. Which birds are desirable on it? Of course, wintering in the area. They can be divided into 2 categories: the first - nomadic. They do not have specific wintering places; where there is enough food, it’s good there in the winter. At the trough they will be the most frequent guests. The second is obligate, i.e. necessarily wintering at their permanent feed stations (sites). Only extreme circumstances can drive them to the feeder: especially severe winter, etc. In the middle zone of the Russian Federation and in the south of Siberia, birds come to the feeder, except for the ubiquitous annoying sparrows, depicted in rice; a list with the names is below it.

Birds you can expect in the winter

• nuthatch;
• pika
• small spotted woodpecker;
• crossbill;
• jay;
• pine nut or nut;
• bullfinch;
• waxwing;
• common oak tree;
• goldfinch;
• yellowhammer;
• greenfinch;
• great tit;
• blue titmouse;
• crested tit;
• muscovite tit;
• long-tailed tit;
• titmouse.

The first trinity is obligatory wintering insectivorous birds.  Nuthatch and pika take out insects from cracks in the bark and wood moves with specially adapted beaks. Woodpeckers, as you know, are being cut to production. You can almost certainly only wait for a small speckled woodpecker at the feeding trough: it can already be said that it has completely taken root with people, and with a lack of animal food it is able to feed on solid seeds. Other woodpeckers (black or yellow, large variegated, green, gold or Syrian) will not fly to the feeder for anything, but if a nuthatch and / or pika appeared there, then this winter the birds are generally ill and the food should be fed high-calorie with animal fats and proteins; which one - more on this later. All these birds take food, clinging to a support.

Crossbills also winter obligate, but feed on husking coniferous seeds  of cones, these are the most specialized of hacking birds, and their beak has turned into something like tongs. Even crossbills chicks are hatched in the middle of winter, when there are plenty of rushing cones. Taking food from a branch or clinging to a support, they generally do not care, if only not from the ground. Jay with cedar - also hullers, but not so skillful. Cedar, by the way, can be seen not only in the north; sometimes she undertakes long-distance fodder migrations, during which she reaches Spain.

All hullers are very useful for the forest, as contribute to the distribution of trees: crossbills lose a lot of them, restoring the existing forest, and jays with cedar trees arrange storage of seeds, which are not fully used, or even completely forgotten. Thus, the forest spreads. Forestry experts are sure that without cedar, maintaining Siberian pine (Siberian cedar) stocks would have been impossible. In addition, jays with pine nuts destroy a lot of wintering harmful insects.

It is possible to attach hullers to the site, but homemade feeders for them need a special type, see below. Huskers are also sold ready-made, but there is nothing in them that could not be done by yourself. They will also fit for crossbills in case of crop failures, however, after feeding, they will fly back to the forest.

Note:  just in case, let’s remind you: insectivorous forest birds and hackers fly to people for food in the most extreme case, and then they definitely need to offer nutritious high-calorie food. Along the way, they thoroughly clean garden and garden from wintering harmful stuff.

Bullfinch, waxwing, oak tree and goldfinch are considered predominantly fruitful birds.  This is not a mistake, it is not about the flesh, but about juicy fruits and berries. Their bones in the digestive tract of these birds, as a rule, are not digested, but the germination of seeds after such treatment is increased. That is, fruit-eating birds contribute to the spread of berry shrubs and trees. However, the nestlings are fed by the insectivorous birds, but for now / when there is no harvest, they themselves are not squeamish. Actually, mid-latitude fertile birds can be considered bird-eating omnivores, because animal feed makes up a considerable share of their diet. Goldfinch generally can consume more insects than plant foods. In the extermination of wintering pests, they complement insectivores and hullers, because those, as a rule, do not take prey completely open and motionless, for example. pupae.

It is advisable to plant fruit-eating birds on the site, but with caution. Slices of soft juicy plant foods laid on the roof of the feeder will be a good welcome: apple stems with seeds, pumpkin, and cucumber. However, before putting a bait, you need to take a closer look at the supporters: if an oak tree is seen among them, it is better to abandon the priming. In the spring, he pecks out swollen buds and in some places has become a real scourge of gardens. Later, the oak tree more than compensates for the damage, destroying in large quantities May chives and caterpillars of cabbage, but still it is not necessary to promote its excessive reproduction.

Note:  it is sometimes advised to put branches, which stood at home in the water before the swelling of the kidneys, as a winter vitamin top dressing. No need, like any other seedlings, and even absolutely useful tits can learn to "oak-bearing." The best vitamin top dressing for birds in winter is apple and pear seeds with seeds, pumpkin fiber core with seeds, viburnum, rowan, elderberry, dried rosehip berries, cherry (from compote) and grape seed. See feed below for more information.

Fruit-eating birds take food from the ground and cling to a support, so that there can be any feeder for them, except for a swinging suspension, see below. They are stronger and stronger than sparrows, but not so impudent, therefore, titmouses are not competitors if there is enough food. Most often there are carduelis on a feeding trough; they are close to becoming obligatorily wintering symbionts of man. It is useful to remember Saint-Exupery: "We are responsible for those we tamed."

Siskins, oatmeal and greenfinch - birds are granivorous.  There is nothing to fear from sprouts from them: they prefer seeds of wild herbs. Chicks are fed by insects. Feed is taken from the ground and from a swinging twig / blade of grass. They are friends with titmouse, but sparrows should be dealt with from their feeders: small-eating, small-sized, not very strong and non-aggressive birds.

Note:  the author is deeply convinced that the old song about the fawn, who drank vodka on the Fontanka, is not only mocked by the cadets of some of the elite cadet corps, wearing yellow-black uniforms. The siskin in nature is indeed somewhat dull and arrogant, like a novice breeze-major who just grabbed (pulled, grunted, missed, rolled, chilled, overturned, etc., etc.) see pic on right. Which does not prevent him from being bird-like cautious and prudent.

Finally, a horde of titmouse birds that steal wheat only in the house that Jack built. In fact, insects are an indispensable and significant part of their diet, and they are diverse. If the great and crested tits are able to cope with the locusts, then the long-tailed tit with a nut is not averse to bite aphids with spider mites. Tits were completely merged with people, there is no need to respect them, they will fly themselves. Top dressing in the usual winter should be given dry vegetable, and in severe frost - highly nutritious, like other insectivores. Then, bored during the winter on the Dry Meat, in the spring, the titmouse will take up the pests, not allowing them to properly squeeze the stingers, and thus it will immediately not be ready for germination with crops. And whoever survives in this beak, will no longer be able to cause significant damage to the crop. Titmouse food can be taken from the thinnest branches trembling with the wind; they have only one evolutionary step left to learn how to eat from the summer. This facilitates the creation of specialized titmouse canteens.

What to do with sparrows?

Sparrows are useful no less than other granivorous ones, but they are impudent, sly, keep in packs. And an ordinary bird feeder, unlike ravens and pigeons, is quite suitable for them in size. Sparrows take food mainly from the ground, but are not afraid of branches. Therefore, they are able to gobble up other birds, when for those feeding is a matter of life and death, while the tweeting rogues themselves could hold out somehow. So it is advisable to arrange a winter bird feeder in such a way that sparrows fly to it only if the wind is walking in the goiter.

Diagram of a bird feeder unattractive to sparrows

Here one can use their caution and manner of avoiding danger. If you notice, the sparrows flee, starting from a place abruptly up. Therefore, a feeding trough in low notches (windows for bird access to the feed) and a steep roof with large overhangs for sparrows is unattractive: to get away from there, you must first flip to the side, and this is not a passerby. The “anti-sparrow” feeder can be made according to the sample of the chicken feeder, the diagram in Fig. Next, consider other options.

Types of feeders

When choosing the type of feeder, in addition to the species composition of the guests, you need to keep in mind the following:

• Birds are oriented mainly by sight; their hearing is weak, and the scent, one might say, none. Therefore, feed must be visible from afar.
• Food should be protected from being inflated by the wind, snow and eating away by unwanted visitors like squirrels or chipmunks.
• It is also advisable to avoid spilling feed on the ground so as not to give “beacons” to small predators. By the way, the most dangerous of them are not cats, domestic and wild, but much more cunning, ferocious and bloodthirsty ferrets, weasels and ermines. A lot of them live near the dwelling, only they know very well not to catch the eye.
• Hangers for temporary top dressing in winter are better to hang, so they will attract less sparrows.
• Stationary feeders for planting birds on a site should be placed on poles with protection from predators, see below. Birds flying for feeding will recognize the site as their own if they find food on a sufficiently large, level, stable area.

Based on the foregoing, we will see which winter bird feeders are better in which case. Their main types are shown in the figure:

Types of winter feeders for wild birds

1 - suspension feeder.  Just feed on a thread or in a mesh cover. Typically a blue bird feeder in case of extreme cold. Of other birds, it can be visited by forest insectivores, except for woodpeckers. Top dressing - “antifreeze” for tits - just a piece of unsalted fat, pos. 1 on the trail fig. A more nutritious option, also designed for hullers, is a ball made from a mixture of seeds (see below), fastened with frozen interior fat (lard) or peanut butter in a vegetable net, pos. 2. However, it is not necessary to pour the fodder mass into plastic cups or beautiful shapes and freeze (pos. 6,7), it is difficult for birds to cling and calories from top dressing may not compensate for the energy consumption for keeping the wings fluttering. A ball from the finished mass must be sculpted with hands in the cold; fat freezes quickly, and the ball can be hung immediately.

Tail pendants

A hanging feeder can be made for birds of certain species. For example, large tits willingly peck garlands of dried berries (especially rose hips) or peanut pods, pos. 3, 4. But the azores love to ride on a swing, and balls for them need to be hung on the thinnest and most elastic twigs or even originally designed in the form of mobile sculptures, or mobiles, poses. 5. Great tits will fly there too, but they do not fight with blue tit.

Hanging top dressing from a cone would be good for hullers, bullfinches and waxwings; for noticeability, it’s nice to supplement it with a bunch of viburnum or mountain ash, pos. 1 in the following figure:

Lump suspension feeder

If there is no bruising cone, any tousled one will go: it is doused with peanut butter (item 2), solid food is stuffed between the scales (item 3), and hung. Lovers of birds and animal photographers, hanging bumpy bids from the summer, manage to make even regular crossbills with their regular guests.

Paper Feeders

A hanging feeder for any birds taking food from a swinging support can be whipped up from paper. In fact, paper is not a material for winter feeders: it slackens, pecks. But a spool from a toilet paper roll, smeared with the same peanut butter and sprinkled with seeds (see the figure on the right), can save more than one feathered poor fellow right before our eyes, and you can make such a feeder in just 5 minutes. The colored tails below are not a fad; they are visible to birds from afar and attract their attention. It is better to make tails red and / or green: for birds, red is berries, and where there is green in winter, there is food there.

2 - a platform.  Advantage - food is clearly visible. Disadvantages: the snow falls asleep, the wind blows, a lot of it wakes up, sparrows on it like at home.

Feeder house out of the box

3 - a house.  The food is protected from snow; Having picked up the roof structure, the feeding trough-house can be made windproof and anti-furrow. But the feed wakes up a lot anyway, and only birds will fly to the usual feeding for lunch. Forest, reaching for housing in an extreme situation, may just not see what is there and crash dead in two steps. The house-feeder with a sloping roof can also be whipped up from the box, as shown in Fig. on right. If circumstances allow, then it is advisable to saturate the box with three to five diluted PVA (it is still useful for cardboard feeders), and stick the supports from sticks / twigs. Then the construction is not enough for one winter. This trough is nailed to a tree with nails.

Note:  the feeder-platform, as needed (weather, etc.), can be turned into a house and vice versa, by attaching a removable roof from thin hard plastic, see fig. left. PET from cut bottles sewn with fishing line or chopped with a stapler is well suited, but thin polycarbonate will also work. In the latter case, it is necessary to nail the slats with grooves from the sides of the platform and push-pull in the roof in them.

Strong Birdhouse

The feeder house with a sloping roof is also convenient for large and strong birds: pigeons, waxwings, jays, pine nuts. All of them do not mind feeding in a row, so the house-dining room for them must be done with a perch. Material - any suitable, including and processed cardboard as a substitute for wood, see below. The feeder for these birds should be larger than for small birds; approximate dimensions see fig. on right. It is tempting to build a similar one quickly from a shoe box, on the sidebar in the same place, but it won’t last long: strong active birds will tear and peck weak material for feeding two.

4 - bunker.  Optimal in all respects, including anti-fungi. The fact is that sparrows are flocks of birds. If the flock doesn’t fit on the feeding area, 1-2 sparrows will not “run into” the oatmeal with the gadgets: they will eat in a strange company, but in turn and respecting decency.

Homemade Bunker Bird Feeders

Homemade hopper feeders come in a variety of designs, see fig. In the center - a special one for tits and small spotted woodpeckers (a hard narrow platform, see below). She is also the one on the right - anti-passerines. Modern materials allow the manufacture of such an effective feeder as a bunker, to lay in 5 minutes. As is clear from fig. on right.

Making a hopper feeder for birds from a bottle

Materials - PET bottle, plastic plate, kapron thread, superglue. Tools - scissors, knife, gypsy needle. And this feeding trough will serve not one winter.

5,6 - tray.  The food is poorly visible, so this is a feeder for the familiar and familiar birds. What is best done before the letok, landing pad or perch-six, depends on the type of feeding; which is more convenient for anyone, we will look further along the way. They are divided into designs with free access to feed (5 in the figure at the beginning of the section) and its automatic feeding into the feed tray (6 in the same place). The latter are even better than bunkers: the feed practically does not wake up. We will deal with them further in more detail. A trough feeder can be designed adapted only for 1 or several species of birds (6), but for this you need to have serious knowledge in ornithology, the appropriate tool and skills; specialized tray feeders are available in a fairly wide range.

Note:  if the tray dining room is planned to be publicly available, the food in it can be made clearly visible by filling the hopper fully or partially transparent with plastic.

7 - specialized feeder-hoeing for birds of the appropriate type of food. The feed is held by a metal mesh. It can be combined with a tray and thus become combined.

Materials and constructions
  Plastic

The most popular plastic feeders today. There are several reasons: empty unfit plastic containers have nowhere to go, transparent plastic allows you to make food visible from afar, working with plastic is lightweight, non-rubbish and can be done at home without special tools. Plastics are strong, racks, bird feeders from them will last more than one year and can be performed of any type.

Plastic Bird Feeders

If you will make a feeding trough-house from plastic, pos. 1 in Fig., Note that the roof should be matte and generally opaque. Wild birds, of course, are quicker than hand-made canaries and parrots, but when they see a cat creeping up (or, say, the shine of the lens of the lens), they can hit the transparent one with a fright.

Good small plastic feeders are obtained from old toys: cubes, etc. They are made from polyethylene, so the only reliable way to glue, for example, a roof is with instant cyanoacrylate glue (superglue). The feeders are clearly visible, all birds are more or less curious, so there are no problems with the visibility of the feed. Round holes in polyethylene are easily cut with two-needle compasses. Homemade products in pos. 2 for complete bird happiness, only perch perches are missing: slippery polyethylene.

On pos. 3 and 4 are already purchased plastic feeders. Just a note: the house at pos. 3 costs 180 rubles, and a transparent "company" in pos. 4 - three times more. But the same feeder can be glued from scraps of polycarbonate and provided, if you really want the window, with suction cups for the bathroom shelves.

Feeders made of unusable plastic containers deserve special analysis, see fig. below. Very well thought out design in pos. 1. A wide tray provides good visibility of the feed, and in combination with a perch allows any bird to feed. The large capacity of the tray and the corresponding feed reserve in it do not require the frequent approach of breadwinners, which scares the birds less. The trough-shaped shape of the tray ensures minimal feed spillage. Bent up hatches-wings give an anti-fungus effect; the platform formed by them from above allows you to put a juicy vitamin top dressing.

Fertilizer bird feeders

Feeders for pos. 2 and 3 are focused on tits, carduelis and granivorous. The main thing in them is a properly arranged dispensing tray, see below. Feeders are simpler for the same tribe, pos. 4 and 5, you can hang, if sparrows are not very annoying. On pos. 4 went the container from the computer drives, this is more for the little things like a siskin, and the power point from the bucket of sour cream (item 5) will feed the bullfinches with waxwings.

Plastic can also include feeders from used containers from liquid products. Milk-kefir packages, however, are cardboard, but are laminated with a film on both sides, so that the winter will last. Well, but the bottles and the bucks, they are from PET. From small milk-juice packets, excellent feeders for tits, carduelis, and granivorous animals are obtained, you only need to insert a roosting stick, pos. 1 on the trail fig. For the same birds, if baclag is involved, it is necessary to cut openings in the vessel about 6x8 cm, each from 3 sides, not reaching 3-4 cm to the bottom, and bend the valves outward, pos. 2.

Bag and Bottle Bird Feeders

If instead of shaky valves, a hard wooden circle is screwed from below, then you can count on the visits of a small colorful woodpecker. He won’t sit on a blue-headed valve: what kind of woodpecker will he be if he doesn’t clutch a tree with claws?

From large packages, public dining rooms are obtained, then the openings need to be cut out more so that the feed is visible from afar. In the case when the feeder is suspended in free space, it is also necessary to pierce it with a pole, pos. 4. When placed in a bush as perches for tits, its branches, pos. 5, and sparrows will be uncomfortable here.

Baklag and tray ...

How to make a bird feeder from a plastic buck

How to make a feeder from a plastic baklaga and a bottle of 0.25-0.5 liters, shown in Fig. on right. The hook below is optional, you can hang the hanging food on it, see above. However, for other types of feeders, the dispenser tray from the bottle may be too big. In this case, it can be glued from cardboard or several layers of paper impregnated with diluted PVA, see next. Figure:

Buckwheat bird feeder tray device

The yellow arrows show the feed paths. To make it wake up less, the inner end of the roost stick should reach the back edge of the tray; Of course, you can pierce the vessel through them. The arrows in the center of the circle give a horizontal and vertical scale, i.e. the summer will be 6 cm in diameter, this is enough for birds no larger than a great tit.

... and a house of packages

Juice bag feeder

From 2 packets of juice, we get a good blue bird feeder-house, see. Fig. on right. The whole structure is fastened with straws from the same juice, their protruding ends will be perches. To prevent the perches from bending (the corrugation of the straw remains outside), it is advisable to insert thin twigs into the tubes; can be broken right there on the spot.

Wood feeders are good for their durability: impregnated with varnish, water-polymer emulsion or its substitute in the form of diluted PVA and painted, they serve for years. Therefore, wooden feeders are most often stationary. Of course, for their manufacture you will need a carpentry tool with a separate workplace.

Simple homemade bird feeder made of wood

The traditional design of a wooden feeder is a house. A view of the simplest home-made wooden feeder with dimensions is shown in Fig. left. However, firstly, such a feeder does not protect the food from weathering, because the space under the flat roof is blown through. Secondly, it seems that slightly changing the configuration and proportions of the parts, it is possible to specialize the feeder quite strongly. E.g. pos. 1 in fig. below is publicly available. Pos. 2 attracts hullers: planting on the side rails and pulling seeds through the crate will give a complete illusion of the usual feeding process. Pos. 3 and 4 - with a weakened blowing of the feed and a noticeable anti-fowl effect, for small and larger birds, respectively. Pos. 5 - almost windless and fundamentally anti-sparrow: a sparrow that has retained common sense will fly into such a place only in the most extreme case.

Winter bird feeders made of wood

Winter hanging wooden feeders are more convenient and easier to make from plywood and bars of approximately 30x30 or 30x40 mm. Here you can do without lumber at all by gluing PVA bars from strips of the same plywood. However, stationary feeders on poles will be more durable from solid wood, because plywood in the open air, in addition to expensive birch waterproof, after a season or two begins to delaminate with any impregnation.

Drawings of a stationary wooden bird feeder

For an example in fig. above - a drawing of a summer cottage, garden or forest feeder for all types of birds. The tin tray on the pillar not only prevents predators, but also serves as the sparrow of the dining room. A lifting liner (it slides freely around the column) facilitates cleaning and allows birds of one species to feed from their recess, leaving others to others. On a pillar under the roof, you can hang nets or cones with food for hullers, and hanging food for tits to the corners of the site. The roof is removable on hooks for easy care.

Wooden special

Two-story hanging bird feeder

The suspended analogue of such a feeder, as is now customary to express it, with simplified functionality, is shown in Fig. on right. The diameter of the floors is about 500 mm. The protrusions on the middle platform are convenient for birds staring at the feed before proceeding to the meal. In this case, the sparrows are intended for the upper platform: these balamutes will still scatter food, so you can do without a side, although it does not hurt.

In fig. below - wooden feeders, hopper and tray, which can be turned into combined, suitable for peasants. The fact is that in these designs, to improve the visibility of the feed, the bins are made with glazed windows. Replacing the glass with a steel mesh with a mesh of about 5x5 mm will make it possible for shellers to pull out seeds while the rest peck from the trays or from the platform.

Wooden bird feeders with good feed visibility

How to do without a tree

Wooden feeders look better than plastic homemade products, they are easier to adapt to the needs of both bird and master. But what if there is no wood tool or if you don’t want to start a joiner in the house with its sawdust and shavings?

A feeder that is not inferior to a wooden one in terms of convenience, appearance and capable of lasting at least 3-4 seasons can be made of corrugated cardboard from packaging boxes that have become unnecessary. Of course, it will take more time, but only a pencil, a ruler, a square, a sharp knife, scissors, an awl, PVA glue and a brush for it will be needed from the tool. The technology is similar to making cardboard shelves:

The manufacture of a substitute for wooden boards from corrugated cardboard

• For each part, 2-5 are cut, depending on the required thickness, of the blanks-plates of the same size, but with an internal corrugation oriented alternately along and across, see Fig. on right;
• Each layer is impregnated on one side with a water-polymer emulsion. In small packaging, it is not for sale, but its full replacement is three to five PVA diluted with water. This work needs to be done on a lined plastic film;
• After a day (if the layers dried at room temperature), the part is glued together with PVA in the same order: corrugation along / corrugation across, see the same pic;
• The part is dried on a film, from above it is also covered with a film and pressed down with several books covering evenly its entire area;
• The feeder is assembled on the same PVA glue;
• After drying, the end joints are reinforced with studs from toothpicks or pointed matches without heads: the holes for the studs are punctured with an awl from top to bottom, a drop of glue is introduced into each and immediately the stud is pressed;
• The open ends are sealed with strips of plain cardboard or thick paper soaked in diluted PVA;
• After 3-4 days of drying, the product can be painted, varnished, decorated with plastic openings, attached a net, etc.

Original feeders

Anyone who undertakes tinkering, wants to do something their own, unusual and unique. Unusual feeders can be divided into original feeders according to the technique of execution or any functional features and simply beautiful, designer. One another, of course, is not a hindrance, would have been hands with his head in place.

The first few, say, technical-functional, are shown in the figure:

Original bird feeders

Pos. 1 - special for hullers, fruit-eaters, and large grain-eating. An ear is put on a nail driven through the bottom. It should be noted that corn should be solid, fodder or oilseeds, with smaller grains. Table sugar will harm the birds: its grains contain too much starch and sugar.

Pos. 2 comments are not required: over the summer, ice cream sticks have been accumulated, then PVA, ropes, and that’s all. If you make a six on each side, then you can immediately feed 4 siskins or gadgets. Pos. 3 woven from paper tubes. The work is complex and time-consuming, especially when you consider that they need to be well protected from deoxidation. However, judging by the fact that as many as 3 big tits are fed on such a small area and another one is waiting in line, the birds really like this creation.

Stamping the end of the cable

Finally, pos. 4, from a can. It would not hurt to put perch from a stick instead of a slippery cold piece of iron. The manufacturing technology allows this: the can is tied with a rope in the same way that sailors, riggers, or, say, high-altitude installers, put a mark on the end of the cable, see fig. on right.

If you take decorative feeders, then there are no design restrictions: the bright colors of the birds do not scare away, they can easily distinguish a painted cat from a living one, and they will also bite the image in retaliation; give just a few examples in the figure:

Decorative bird feeders

According to the execution technique, it is better to avoid varnished and shiny surfaces, as in pos. 1. On smooth claws, it is more difficult to catch, grains from the beak dodge, and glare cut sensitive bird's eyes.

Feeders for wild birds made of pumpkin do not fit into any classification, but for birds it’s a paradise: proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins with trace elements - all in one and in sufficient quantities. Plus, strong and at the same time flexible support under the claws. It’s not necessary to make a pumpkin out of a house or to cut a scarecrow’s face on it, as in the figure: it is enough to remove a piece of skin from one side to the pulp, and before the spring only the peel will remain from the pumpkin. Perhaps suitable for entertaining crafts.

Pumpkin Wild Bird Feeders

How to feed wild birds?

It remains to decide what to put the bird food in the feeder. The best food for all wintering birds is the seeds of wild herbs, especially burdock. Lovers of songbirds and ornithologists from the summer collect turnip seed or buy it in pet stores. Further, in order of preference and benefit to them:

Note:  if there is an opportunity to buy in a pet store the so-called. canary seed or grain mix for budgies, this is exactly what any of the birds on the feeder needs.

Wheat, rye and bread from them should be avoided: the avian organism is not able to process excess starch. Black bread is especially dangerous: it causes goiter inflammation, which often leads to the death of the bird. Completely dry crumbs of white bread can be given to pigeons and fruit-eating birds. The same applies to all cereals that are very swollen during cooking: barley (barley), rice, buckwheat. For corn, as mentioned above, you need to be careful. In general, it must be borne in mind that wild birds are smaller than chickens with ducks, and their digestion is unusual for domestic feed.

Note:peel of citrus and tropical fruits - bananas, mangoes, avocados, mangosteens, sapodilla, etc. for our birds is deadly poison. It’s about sugar.

Of the vitamin top dressing, the best, as already mentioned, are brushes and clusters of wild berries. In addition to the mentioned mountain ash, viburnum, elderberry, barberry, currant, aronia, juniper are willing to peck. In the southern regions - cotoneaster, berries of "wild grapes" (cissus), boxwood. Stones of table grapes, cherries and sweet cherries from compote, melon and watermelon seeds (not flesh!), Apple and pear seeds with seeds, grated raw carrots are also excellent vitamin top dressing. Whole fruits should not be given: feeding on them, and the most important tit will not resist the temptation to bite them in the garden in the summer.

An important component of the bird's diet is mineral dressing and solid inclusions, grinding food in the stomach. Of the minerals, calcium is the most important. Its source on the feeder is finely crushed eggshell. It must be given without fail if you want winter eaters to spring nest right there. Even birds, like domestic chickens, need sand. It needs to be sprinkled a little, always river rounded and the smallest.

So, a young man with an actively destructive way of thinking in the winter heard that brown bread and banana peels for birds are deadly. Immediately set to work: not too lazy and put together a feeder, dried and finely chopped banana peels. Then he forked out for a loaf of Borodinsky for 40 rubles. at the then price, crumbled it too. I mixed everything, hung up a feeding trough, poured bird poison into it.

The next morning he went, looking forward to the "task", to see how many of them were lying there with bloated goiters. It turned out - not a single one, the food was not touched. The hapless terrorist had no time to decide what he should think about this, as flocks fell from the surrounding trees and showered Grisha with “business cards”. Separate "cards" merged into a continuous blanket, and a handful was formed on the head. Since then, the poor fellow has carefully and cautiously avoided even flocks of sparrows on asphalt.

Although winter has not been severe in recent years, food for birds is still not enough at this time of year. Feathered birds willingly flock to the proposed treat, and you can watch the titmouse, bullfinch, and sparrows around for hours.

This is especially fascinating for children. I still remember my own childhood impressions: I couldn’t tear me from the window. Dad then made a small simple wooden feeding trough from slats and scraps of plywood, and near her sparrows always curled up, sometimes bullfinches flew in. And for the blue we hung a piece of fresh bacon. Last year I myself tried to build something similar, but my carpentry and carpentry skills were not enough - it turned out to be something not very durable and slightly kosoboky.

The easiest way, of course, is to use the well-known option - cut the feeder out of a cardboard bag (from under milk or juice) or a plastic bottle:

A plastic bottle feeder is probably the easiest option

1. Roofless feeder - the simplest design

To make a roof for the “bird's dining room”, in my opinion, is the most difficult part of the work. So, if you are not sure about your construction skills, like me, you can try first to offer feathered guests of the garden a treat for plain wooden tray.

A wooden feeder without a roof is not very practical, but very simple

A piece of plywood, four thin cubes as sides (so that the grain does not blow off the wind) and a rope for fastening on a branch - the feeder is ready! And a very simple option is to fix an ordinary plastic tray on some stable surface (they often pack candies, cookies, vegetables in stores):

Plastic tray feeder is extremely easy to manufacture

Big minus  such a feeder - it is not protected from snowfalls and winds. So this is rather not a “dining room”, but a small “buffet” for birds. It will be suitable as a temporary “feeding point” - if you are in the country very rarely in the winter, and there is no one to fill the feeding trough regularly on the regular basis.

2. Wooden flat roof feeder

This option is more complicated, but not by much. With the task of attaching four columns to the base of the feeder - supports under the roof - even I successfully coped. Then it remains only to pin or fix with screws on top one more piece of plywood (it is better if it will be a little larger in size than the base of the feeder). Such an elementary roof will serve as a small, but nevertheless shelter from snow and rain.

It’s not too difficult to make a flat roof, and this is already some kind of protection against precipitation

Minus design: on a flat roof, the snow lingers, the feeder may become too heavy and break or break off the branch on which you fastened it. So it is better to hoist it on a strong pole or other reliable support, and periodically clean snow from the roof.

3. Cones, berries, sunflowers ...

I personally really liked this idea, although now it can be implemented only if there are suitable stocks in the house:

Many birds will appreciate cones with seeds.

Since autumn, we have rowanberry beads hanging in the house - Alenka made from ripe berries. I think such a treat to the birds will also be to taste. And next season we’ll prepare more thoroughly.

4. Avoska with provisions

Another simple and easy to implement idea. True, lately something like these nets have rarely come across to me (we used to sell tangerines in them), but I think if you search, there will be.

And then it’s very easy (well, if you believe what I read in different sources). If someone tried to make such a feeder, please share your impressions: how simple, convenient and how birds relate to such a treat.

So, the grain (or grain mixture) is well mixed with melted lard ( by no means salty!) or peanut butter. A ball is rolled from the mixture, placed in a net and suspended. All! Fat freezes in the cold and keeps food, which the birds then gradually peck. I came across an option without a fatty “filler”:

Avoska with bird food

True, here the food is large, as it seems to me - not every bird can cope with such a treat. But maybe I'm wrong. Another way to "improve" the mesh feeder is the roof. Yes, the most caring can protect both feed and feathered guests from the weather. So, for example:

Idea for the skilled and caring: a net with feed under the roof

And with the help of a net you can organize a real dining room for birds, almost a restaurant. With a large assortment of dishes - as in the following photo. This idea seemed to me worth attention too, and you?

With the help of nets you can organize a real bird "restaurant" with a large selection of dishes

Mesh feeders it’s also convenient because it’s more difficult for big cheeky birds like forty and daws to attach to them. For us, for example, this is really a problem: only you sprinkle cereals into the trough - magpies immediately appear near it; they drive bluebirds and sparrows, and it is more difficult to feed small birds in the winter with food. Therefore, I purposefully look for options that would be suitable specifically for these birds. Here is another find ...

5. Coconut feeder

If the farm accidentally littered coconut, then, using its intended purpose, the shell can be used as a feeder.

If coconut is littered on the farm, you can also make a feeder out of it

True, as far as I know, it is very solid, and dealing with it is not so easy, but if it doesn’t scare you, look at the idea better. A natural, environmentally friendly feeder and birds will delight, and the garden will decorate. It is more convenient to fill it with the same mixture of fat and grain that was prepared for the feeding grid. And it’s not necessary to hollow out the holes in the whole nut - you can use half of the coconut shell.

6. Mesh feeders

Such designs can often be found in stores, but for a good master, I think it will not be difficult to make such a feeder with your own hands, especially since the material is quite affordable.

The size of the structure and construction details is at your discretion. However, the feeder should obviously not be too large in diameter. But its height, perhaps, should be done and more - so that several birds can feed at once. Of course, the roof will be needed (removable - to fill the grain inside) and the base - so that the feed does not spill out.

And here I liked another metal mesh feeder - but this is, perhaps, already for virtuoso masters. But the idea is good!

Tit-feeder ball like

However, if you look closely, perhaps such a "ball" can be built not only from metal wire. I think those who can