Mary Allen
Whether in winter or all year round: If you want to feed wild birds, you need a feeding station. A bird feeder is a covered feeding table that is easy to make and set up. Whether you buy the birdhouse or build it yourself is a question of your manual skills. As a compromise, there is also a birdhouse kit available on the market. The advantages of a self-built birdhouse: You have greater design freedom. The difficulty: a little effort and a sense of proportion are required to make a wooden birdhouse yourself. A birdbath is also part of the targeted bird feeding and complements the house.
Knock on Wood: the Right Material
The classic material for a birdhouse is wood. It is easy to work with, protects the forage from direct moisture and snow, and is also a sustainable raw material. For a bird feeder, you need wood, for example about 2 cm thick spruce boards, wood glue, nails, and a round rod that will later hold the roof structure.
The amount of material required in each case depends on the size of the birdhouse. The best thing to do is to draw a floor plan before starting construction. Decide whether the bird feeder will be an open construction or whether you will need a back wall. The latter is recommended when mounting on a wall. It is an advantage for a free-standing or hanging birdhouse if the birds can approach from all sides. So they can evade each other and there is no unnecessary quarrel at the feeding station. When building a birdhouse you should also include in the planning how many birds are likely to be guests and how big they are: A free-standing birdhouse near a park is visited by a different “audience” than one on a balcony in the city center. When constructing the bird feeder, consider larger birds such as magpies or wood pigeons. These songbirds should also get their share of the food without getting trapped. You can find detailed handicraft instructions for building a bird feeder yourself online, for example.
Hanging or Standing: the Optimal Way of Mounting
Once the bird feeder has been completed or purchased from the base area, roof, side struts, and, if applicable, rear wall, it must be attached. It’s comparatively easy with a hanging model: One or two fixed screw hooks in the roof and a branch or hook are sufficient to hang up the bird feeder. Make sure that you can easily reach the bird feeder for filling and cleaning, but that cats, martens, and the like cannot climb or jump there. With a self-made birdhouse with a stand, you can proceed immediately with the construction so that a curious velvet paw or another feed robber cannot climb the actual feeding table. A cuff on the stand or a protruding roof makes climbing much more difficult. A certain instinct and a sense of statics are required when constructing the base from sturdy wooden beams – but this is not a challenge for a gifted hobbyist.
Bathing Fun and a Source of Drinking: the Birdbath
The availability of water is just as important for wild birds as the supply of food. If it has not rained for a few days or the ground is frozen, it is difficult for wild birds to find enough drinking water. Birds also need water to care for their plumage and not only take a bath with pleasure on hot days.
A flat bowl made of ceramic, clay, or plastic, which is filled with fresh water, is suitable as a birdbath or birdbath. The pet shop offers many different models of birdbaths, both at ground level and those with stands: With this you prevent, for example, the family dog running freely in the garden from quenching its thirst. Also, remember to set up the birdbath so that no predators can stalk the distracted birds.
Made by Yourself: Individually Designed Bird Baths
You can easily make a bird bath yourself. All you need are several clay pots in different sizes, a clay coaster, and all-purpose glue. You stack the pots one inside the other with the bottom up. The largest pot comes down and it forms the foundation. Then you glue the individual components firmly together. This creates a column, on the top of which you attach a coaster. The do-it-yourself bird bath is ready. Experiment with different materials and shapes and decorate your garden with original bird pools.
Safety for Non-swimmers
Birdbaths are generally shallow bowls. Nevertheless, small birds appreciate a stone or something similar to a “bathing island” if it is a little too deep. Also, keep in mind that the water will also attract other thirsty animals, such as insects. So that the birdbath does not endanger any small animal, you can use a simple trick: a wine cork in the birdbath does not disturb the birds and serves as a lifeline for insects in need.
Pool Heating: Birdbath in Winter
Birds also need drinking and bathing water in winter. However, this is not so easy at sub-zero temperatures. You will need to change the freezing water from the birdbath frequently. Never fill in heated water: the birds could scald themselves or cool off with wet plumage due to the temperature difference. With the construction of a plant ring, an oil grave light, and a clay coaster, you can make a birdbath. Choose a distance from the flame to the bowl so that the water does not freeze (about 4 ° C) but is not additionally heated and protect the grave light from the birds to avoid burns!