Helpful Information
Timing: All year around
Where to do it: Indoors or outdoors
Garden space: Small garden, large garden or a balcony
Timing: All year around
Where to do it: Indoors or outdoors
Garden space: Small garden, large garden or a balcony
Plenty of smaller birds will enjoy perching on your bottle feeder and nibbling on seeds.
I enjoy feeding the birds with seeds, peanuts and bird cake. Though I don’t see them I do sometimes hear them and my visitors tell me there are quite a variety.
Jean, blind and deaf gardener
Look out for blue tits, great tits, finches robins, sparrows and more.
When should you hang your bird feeder? The most important time of year is during the cold, winter months. This is when it is hardest for them to find natural food sources. But, you can feed birds all year around. They will soon learn you are a reliable place to go for a good meal!
Essential items
Optional items
Follow these steps to create your recycled bottle bird feeder with ease.
Step 1: Clean the bottle
Take off the label when you clean it, so it’s easier to see inside the bottle.
Step 2: Make a perch
Gather together the tools you will need for this task.
Start by using your drawing pin to make two holes in the bottle. These should be around 2cm from the bottom and on opposite sides. Use your pencil or screwdriver to make these holes a little wider if needed.
Step 3: Make a large window in the bottle
Use your drawing pin to pierce a hole at the front of the bottle around 5cm from the bottom. Use a pencil or screwdriver to make this hole big enough to fit your scissors into.
Cut a ‘window’ (square) out of the bottle. This needs to be large enough so birds can easily perch and get to the seeds.
You could decorate your bottle with paint or marker pens at this stage – be as creative as you like!
Step 4: Tie string around the handle
Loop a long piece of string around the handle. The length of the string should be around 40-50cm. This could vary, depending how thick the branch is where you will hang the feeder. Tie the ends of the string together with a knot.
You can avoid fiddly knot tying. Loop the string through the bottle handle. Use a food / freezer bag clip to hold the ends together.
Step 5: Fill and hang
Fill the bottom of your bottle feeder with seeds or other bird feed. Find a sturdy branch of a tree or bush and you are ready to hang it up!
Use scissors to open the bird feed. Put the feed in a jug first to make it easier to pour into bird feeder. Once you have a good layer of feed, it is ready to hang!
Birds like to feel safe when feeding. Look for a branch that is quite high off the ground, but within comfortable arm reach. You could make several feeders and hang them in different places around the garden. This will help you discover where is popular with birds.
Now is a good time to make yourself a rewarding treat, sit back and wait for the birds to find their feast!
You can keep your feeder topped up with seeds or bird feed, so the birds keep coming back to it. If you are keeping it in the garden for a while, be sure to bring it in and wash with warm, soapy water occasionally. This will help avoid birds catching any germs.
It can sometimes take time for birds to discover new sources of food. Be patient and don’t worry if birds do not instantly appear!