DIY bird feeder

Do you remember the DIY coffee pot cozy?

The variety - various clips and clothes, how versatile!

There are many reasons, why I choose DIY over buying. You find the story behind the DIY coffee pot cozy here. Today's posting is not about the praise of the coffee pot cozy but about my new DIY bird feeder. It comes with a story.

The story

[for immediate results: please scroll down to "The making of a DYI bird feeder"]

Last year I happily fed birds on our window board. Every morning I would spread nuts, oats and raisins on the window board and in the evening the board would be empty. Those birds must have been so hungry! 

Until the neighbour from downstairs confronted me: "Miss Paula*, you must quit using your kitchen window as a garbage can. All the dirt from your cutting boards and towels lands on my window board. Such a mess, all the dirt! This has to stop immediately."

I stared at him. And I realised. It was the wind, which had blown the food away. What a mess! 

I apoligized, of course. And I felt guilty, of course. But most of all, I did worry about my poor hungry little cute adorable desperate birds. 

My apology sounded something like this: "Mr Neighbour, this is a  big misunderstanding. This is not dirt, no, you must understand, this is birdfood! Oh, the poor birds, I thought they ate the food. I am so sorry! (... for the birds.)" 

Long story short, I had to find a way to get the food on the window board without starting off a war with Mr Neighbour. I googled the internet. Most bird feeders require some drilling. Others require a larger surface to stand on. 

Since this is a drilling-hostile environment (aka the fear of drilling an unfitting hole), there had to be another way to place the nuts on the window board. I let my mind wander and it did not take long until I came up with the solution: Glue! I digged out some glue which had proven to be an excellent tool back in my scrapping days. The information on the package says "suitable for cardboard and paper". I generously stretched the profile to "also suitable for iron sheet".

The making of a DYI bird feeder

1. Take a small box with "langue de chat" chocolate and eat enjoy the chocolate

Unfortunately I was not able to document the chocolate.
Someone was faster than me. Mr Paula says "Hello". The Katzenzungen were very yummy.

2. Seperate the top from the bottom

3. Pause and doubt "Is it really such a good idea, to glue a carton box on the window board?"


4. Apply the glue on the bottom of the box

5. Stick the cardbox on the iron sheet / No photo. Both hands were busy

6. Try to shake the box to see of it sticks firmly. / Again, no photo. Both hands were busy.
As you can imagine, I deliberately chose a private moment for vandalising.
Make sure no one is around to ask you "What on earth are you doing here?!?" 

7. Feed the birds

The great tit seems to have recently discovered the food. Adorable birds. I love the soud their wings make, when they leave: flapflapflapfalpp.

The new bird feeder, fully operational
I need a faster camera to "catch" them before they fly away.

Now that winter is almost gone, it is time for same changes in the great tit-diet. I once read that it is not safe to feed great tits with nuts as soon as they start to feed their ... kids(?) offsprings(?) The "baby great tits" depend on insects and the mother and father birds can't find enough insects in the city-environment to feed the kids.

I am going to pay the nearby Reptile Centre a visit and check out how limited the movement of flour worms (!)  is. Living flour worms. 2,99 EUR a box. Will the box prevent the worms from moving along?

I answer before you even asked:
1. Yes, you always feed living flour worms.
2. No, it is not contradictory for a vegan person to feed birds with living worms.

More to come!
Paula

*he will never see me as a grown up, especially when I cause trouble like this.