Need help - bird feeders???

Last fall my large birdfeeder was destroyed by a bear who loved sunflower seeds.
The temorary winter feeder got crushed by an avalanche of snow off the roof.
Spring is here and my birds are coming SOON!!
I can't afford a $200 feeder and that is the size I need. I can get 50-60 pine siskins alone,
plus dozens more woodpeckers, nuthatchers, grosbeaks, and several other varieties.
I am talking several hundred birds a week, so I need a feeder that will hold 2-3 gals of seed yet
be light enough to hang high in a tree.

Anyone have some homemade ideas?? or inexpensive things that have worked for you.
Milk cartons or open feeders don't work ... they get destroyed too quickly.
Trying to make my own hopper feeder but it is looking pitiful.

Hi Cascade! I'll take a look around for you.

Heres one; I'm not sure how easy it would be to build.

You'll have to scroll down a bit.

http://wayneofthewoods.com/bird-feeder-plans.html

Hi CascadeMom--

We buy a red hopper feeder at Home Depot for $25. that we fill with Black Oil Sunflower Seed. It comes with two suet holders on each end. To save $$ we make our own suet. We add a squirrel baffle and hang the feeder over a high limb with a rope to lower to make it easy to fill the hopper. I think it holds about 2 gallons of BOSS.

It works great for us and it's not so pricey as some of the others.

It looks similar to this style but ours is red and just $25.
[HYPERLINK@www.bestnest.com]

Home Depot also has some inexpensive thistle feeders.

It sounds like maybe it would be helpful to offer just one or two kinds of seed to your birds to edit out some of the less desirable birds from your feeder (if you are overwhelmed by the numbers). Perhaps focus on feeding woodpeckers or certain songbirds and forego putting out the favorite seed (like millet, milo and corn) of some of the other birds.

Good luck with your feeders. Show us some photos when you get your new one up! t.

Here's a pic of our red hopper feeder in the upper left corner...

pelletory you are incredible.
I've ggogle my hand numb ...but that is exactly what I needed.
Simple but sufficient. I'll work with the designs they show, wish me luck!

Tabasco: The feeder that was destroyed this winter is the one from HD as you show.
I didn't like the squirrel baffle and it spun sround because it was suspended by a single wire.
I must live in amuch windier spot. lol.
I only use sunflower seed.. used to hang thistle but then I had several hundred siskins and
it got outrageous. no millet, milo, or corn in the feeder. Only occasionally as a ground feed
for the doves, quail, and twoees. (sp?)

Pictures coming in a month or two.LOL!!





Thanks so much to both of you for replying!

What about those BIG No-No Feeders. They would stand up to some pounding I guess. This one holds 8.5 pounds which is what I think that my metal hopper holds (like Tabasco's).

http://www.no-nobirdfeeder.com/product_detail22.asp

Heres a larger no no feeder too.

http://www.rachelsrobin.com/shop/index.php?page=shop-flypage-19185-9e764d375e125eb298b44fe87554d874&ps_session=161995e97f895309647d6a54172684e6

Cascade are you bringing in your feeders at night?

Yes, I imagine a tree climbing bear could do damage to just about any feeder!

Good luck with your project!

bringing in my feeder at night!? no
I think that would be an incredible feat. I am hanging this one very high up with a
pulley/rope for access. The bear didn't climb the tree he just had to reach up and
grab a corner of it to get it crashing to the ground. :)
I actually caught him one morning and yelled at him to get him to scamper off.
Hoping that hanging higher will detract him enough.

I'm going to finish my homemade hopper today, but also just bought the large No-No.
We'll see how this works.

HA. I would NOT have the courage to yell at a bear!!!

We just have black bears and they are a natural resident in our little valley, quite harmless really.
Although we do much to keep them at a distance. The worst they have done here is knock over a garbage bin,
bust a birdfeeder and destroy my compost bin. In the fall it is cool at night so when I do my canning I often
keep the fruit on the porch. I have startled a few in the early am by turning on the kitchen lights. LOL

For the most part we just keep the food out of their reach and an occasional blast of a noisy rifle keeps
them at a distance. Now cougars are a different story altogether. Rural hardly describes where I live. hahahhaa!

So when I say I feed hundreds of birds ....it is not an exaggeration.




This message was edited Mar 24, 2008 7:37 AM

Sounds like a wonderful place!

Thanks from all my little friends... ;)
Made a 'funky' version of the feeder pelletory suggested above up, and today it snowed big time.
So many of the new arrivals flocked to the feeder I felt heartened that I had food for them.

I have more feeders coming from the website Rachels Robin, but at least for now the little
buggers have some food in a late snow storm.
Besides my little favorites, Chickadees, Nuthatchers, Juncos, I also had a White headed Woodpecker,
a Hairy Woodpecker, Twoees, (sp?) and some early pine siskins at the feeder.
My 'Says Phoebe' is back, but god knows what she is eating in this snow.

I will get pictures as soon as the sun comes out. LOL

I am so happy to hear this and really look forward to seeing pics of your birdies. It sounds like you have a wonderful variety! Thanks for the good news!

Thats great news Cascade! Can't wait to see the pics!

Well I have even more respect and AWE at all the pictures in here.
This is all new to me and as you can see I won't win any prizes for pictures. :)

First: the feeder isn't pretty but it works for the short term. My major concern was getting
some food out there for the weary and hungry migrator. I'll do some rework when time and materials allow.

Second, it seems everytime I point the camera the birds take flight... while adding the suet today I hear and saw several
Whiteheaded Woodpeckers chirping about 20' from me.... but would they hold still for a camera shot... Nooooo

So the chickadees, juncos, came. Then the Stellar jay scared everyone one off for a while. They are noisy buggers. LOL

Stellar Jay

So I switched to a different window but with the 'storm window' in place (12 mil plastic) it isn't very clear.
But hopefully you can see the chickadee at the suet and the house finches.

Either way it is the birds that have food and my gratitude that means much!

That last picture was really distorted and I am not sure why ..yet.
I hope I can do better because soon the Grosbeaks and swallows will be here and I would
love to share decent photos of them with you.

Thanks for posting the pics; glad its working out for them and you!

We'll be looking forward to seeing the Grosbeaks and maybe even the White-headed Woodpecker!

Many years ago someone told me a story.....
Imagine driving some 500-1000 mile journey year after year.
After the first few years you count on a few special spots where you know the food is good and
refreshment and rest is at hand. Unexpectedly one year you get to that spot and no one is home,
no food left on the doorstep...........
How disappointing and how much harder the next part of your journey must seem.

The same goes for migratory birds. Once you have established a feeding station; they depend on you.

Thats a wonderful story! Fits well for our birds! Thanks :-)

I am glad the feeder has worked out so well for you Cascade and I hope we see more of your birds in the future. Someone told me that once you start feeding the birds you have to do it forever...well I'm game!

Definitely! The day would seem so dull w/out seeing our beautiful little friends in the yard!

I'm game also... I certainly feel a responsibility to maintaining a food source for my
migratory friends.

Still not going to win any awards for bird photography but a little better. LOL

The Whiteheaded has been very leary and seems to know where the camera is.
Here he is watching me watching him.

Now he goes for the suet.......

and here comes Hairy!

Neat pics Cascade!! Thanks for posting them!

Nuthatchers and Chickadees are the bravest.
They always venture forth first to a new feeder....

And JUNCOS!!
usually a ground feeder and we have hundreds on the ground now.
But here is one who ventured higher..........

Slate Junco?

Probably the "Oregon form" of the Dark-eyed Junco.

Glad you appreciate my efforts pelletory.
Hopefully I can get some really good pics over the next few weeks.
We do get some rather rare birds at our remote 'diner'. And usually in quantity!

The Hummers actually get obnoxious after the first few weeks.
I feed them only during the incoming migration, during a dry spell, and a bit before they leave.
Otherwise you get 20-40 of them buzzing you while sitting on the porch!

Though honestly I have never seen a grackle here.... lucky me!

CascadeMom--so happy you got your feeder built and already have visitors.

Your pic of the White-headed Woodpecker is very interesting. I don't think many of us (at least those of us east of the Rockies) get those....

We have had several juncos that look like the 'Oregon form' visiting here-- I looked them up on the Internet and found out that there are several sub-species of juncos and that the experts seem to be in a tizzy over these different colorations...especially here in the East. Our different juncos created a bit of excitement for us though--nice to see these new arrivals in spring time.

I am happy that our Pileateds are back to the feeders after several months absence. They say March is a difficult time for birds because the woods are devoid of seeds and new growth hasn't really started yet. I can tell that at our feeders--they are very busy these days, too.

I will be interested to follow along on pics of your feeder birds, CM. Yours are so different from the varieties we get here. It will be nice to compare.

CM...Thanks for posting the pics especially of the WH Woodpecker! I have never seen one and hope you can share lots more pics with us. I am so happy that your new feeder is working out well for you and the birds. Feeding the birds is a wonderful adventure...better than TV or a new dress (the price of Sunflower seeds has jumped from $16.50 for 50 pounds to $22.00)! It's OK though..I don't wear dresses!! LOL!

Rose, Where are you buying your seed?

Is that Black Oil Sunflower Seed or Sunflower Seed w/ out the shell?

Yippee the suns out!!

Yes Pelle...it is Black Oil Sunflower Seed! How much are you paying?

I usually get a large bag thats a mix of both and nothing else, I think its $22.00.

I'd really prefer the bag with the unshelled but the 2 places I go want $40.00!!!

LOL, I'll wait till it goes on sale.

I don't think its 50 pds though, probably 30.

This message was edited Apr 2, 2008 8:35 AM

The unshelled here is about $1.20 a pound!! I think we probably have the some of the cheaper prices here in our area as the cost of living is one of the lowest in the US! It is getting costly though and I will plant tons of sunflower seed this year!