Feed the Birds!
Does spending more time at home over the last few months make you more aware of the songbirds in our neighborhood? The chirping and warbling of birds, like the black-capped chickadee, or the Western meadowlark – is music to our ears. What a great attitude toward life — to wake up singing! If you’d like to attract an avian chorus to your backyard – make a bird feeder! That’s one way to guarantee the melodies of nature will waft through your windows at sunrise!
Bottles, Bowls and Saucers
The Garden Glove found 16 crafty blogs around the internet with bird feeders that can be made in minutes for very little money. From the mailing tube feeder (clear plastic mailing tube color-blocked with Outdoor acrylic paint), to the upside-down bottle filled with sugar water for hummingbirds, you’ll find a quick craft that when stuffed with bird seed, suet or (yew, ick!) mealworms, will attract plenty of feathered friends.
Jamie at Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom found some inexpensive little wooden birdhouses at a local craft store, ($1 to $5, depending on the size) for her bird feeders. She and her daughter, Gorilla-Glued® them to a rectangular wooden tray to hold the bird seed. She added a couple of L brackets on either end, then looped some twine through the holes to hang it outside.
Family Handyman curated 14 more bird feeder ideas, and while some we wouldn’t hang within 500 feet of our yards (e.g., the empty milk jug feeder!), we did like the terra cotta number. From All Things Heart and Home, a clay pot and two saucers (one lid, one feeding saucer) from your friendly neighborhood Home Depot (in Thornton), can become a bird feeder in less than a day. (You’ll need a few other items for holding the seed inside the pot and hanging it, but all-in you’ll spent about $10).
Mommy Moment glued a repurposed teacup (think elegant porcelain or china) and saucer to create a bird feeder that classes up any backyard aviary. And The Garden-Roof Coop shows you how to combine a mason jar (what can’t you do with a mason jar?), copper wire and a chicken feeder for a come-and-get it smorgasbord that has a place for six or more little beaks.
Wood Projects – Beginner and Advanced
If you’re handy with a miter saw and drill (or know someone who is), check out this tutorial from Lowe’s. With small lengths of cedar wood and a few screws, you (or someone you know!) can put together this handsome, uptown bird feeder with its slanted roof — and in a single day. It’ll set you back $100 but last for a loooong time (15-20 years). 
Allcrafts.net has bird house and bird feeder projects for both beginners and advanced woodworkers. You can follow the instructions for a wooden bird feeder, and graduate to a bird house or vice versa. All the materials and steps will lead you through the project from purchase to first bird meal!
Bird Seed Cakes and Ornaments
From Birds and Blooms you’ll find lots of projects to keep you busy as you feed the warblers in your zip code. Some are feeders made from PVC pipe, tomato cages, colanders and baskets. Others are tasty cakes and ornaments like this birdseed wreath made with flour, gelatin, corn syrup and peanut butter plus 5 cups of birdseed and hung with a burlap ribbon.
Also from Birds and Blooms comes this paper heart DIY bird feeder made of recycled paper (that YOU recycle) and spread with peanut butter dipped in bird seed. Pretty easy and fairly crafty, and you can make yourself a PB&J while you’re at it.
If you’re worried, like we are, about where the birds will perch to peck at seeds, here’s an idea from The Crafty Mom channel called Learn to Grow: a suet bird feeder made from a mesh produce bag. Here’s a YouTube video to show you how it’s done! Birds’ little talons can grip the mesh while they eat. No hovering required!
Birds in Colliers Hill
Summer offers so many more options when it comes to making meals for you and your family – with more seasonal fruits and veggies and opportunities to grill — and for your wee feathered friends. Check out the many amenities in the master-planned community of Colliers Hill, and the beautiful model homes from Richmond American Homes and Century Communities – and coming this fall – paired K B Home product. It’s a great time to buy with rates so low – and lots of possibilities from the high $300s.
