Recycled material bird feeder, an easy weekend project

Given that Earth Day is quickly approaching I thought I would come up with a quick and easy bird feeder project made of reused and recycled materials that would have otherwise been garbage.  I don’t recall how I came up with the idea for the feeder, but it really works well and doesn’t require very much to build.  To get started, you first need to gather the materials.

The main structure of the feeder comes from Kirkland Organic Animal Crackers (which are yummy). The seed hopper is an empty 2 liter soda bottle, I purchased a bottle of Shasta club soda special for the project.  It had the 2 things I was looking for; clear plastic and a 5 footed base which is an important part of the functional design as the feet push the seed out so the feeder can be completely cleaned of seed by the birds.  You can enjoy a snack of crackers and soda while working on the project.

The rest of the materials – clothesline cord, 1/4 inch bolt and wing nut, and a carabiner are likely materials you have around the garage or house or can be easily acquired.  Tools include a permanent marker, electric drill, box cutter or sharp knife, and may need some Goo Gone to get rid of label residue.  Once you have the materials and tools, you are ready to get started.

Click here to view the step-by-step tutorial:

It is fun to involve the kids, but use caution as a drill or box cutter can seriously injure a curious helper.  Also be sure to check out my other easy bird feeder project, the hanging suet log.

See the associated Flickr set here.