A Feeder You Can Make in an Afternoon

There is something deeply satisfying about turning something destined for the recycling bin into a busy little feeding station. A clean plastic bottle, a length of twine and a couple of short dowels are all you really need, and the whole thing can be put together in twenty minutes on a kitchen table. Garden birds are remarkably unfussy about appearances; what they care about is a reliable, hygienic supply of good food, placed where they feel safe.

Do bear in mind from the outset that a homemade bottle feeder is a working feeder, not an heirloom. It will need washing often, and it will need replacing every few months. Treat it as a temporary but genuinely useful piece of kit, and it will serve you and your garden visitors well.

Choosing and Preparing Your Bottle

A one-and-a-half or two-litre bottle is the sweet spot: big enough to hold a decent amount of seed, small enough to be emptied and cleaned regularly. Smaller bottles work on balconies, though you will be refilling them constantly. Clear plastic is best, because you can see at a glance how much seed is left and whether any has clumped together after rain.

Rinse the bottle thoroughly, peel off the label and remove every trace of glue — a warm soapy wash and a scrape with a plastic spatula usually does it. Bottles that held sugary drinks need particular attention, as any residue attracts wasps and encourages mould. Once it is clean and completely dry, you are ready to start.

Building the Feeder: Step by Step

• Mark your feeding ports. Using a marker pen, make two or four small dots around the bottle, roughly 5cm up from the base. Two ports suit a small garden; four suit a busy one.
• Make the holes. A hot metal skewer, held with an oven glove, pushes through plastic neatly and leaves a smooth edge. An adult should do this part, and it is worth doing it near an open window or outside, as melted plastic smells unpleasant.
• Add the perches. Push a short dowel, bamboo cane or pencil through the bottle just beneath each port, so it protrudes on both sides. Birds need to sit comfortably with their beaks able to reach the seed.
• Drill a drainage hole. One small hole in the very bottom lets rainwater escape rather than soaking the seed from below.
• Sort the hanging loop. Make a hole in the lid, thread strong twine or garden wire through it and knot it inside the cap so it cannot pull free.
• Test it. Fill with a little seed, hang it up and watch. If seed pours out too quickly, your ports are too large; if birds cannot reach, the perches are set too low.

Filling It Well: Choosing the Right Food

Sunflower hearts are the best all-round choice for a bottle feeder. They leave no husks, appeal to tits, finches, house sparrows and nuthatches, and they do not clog the ports. Mixed seed is cheaper but messier — birds pick out their favourites and scatter the rest, which then attracts rodents. If you do use a mix, sweep up beneath the feeder regularly.

Peanuts should only ever come from a supplier who sells them for birds: unsalted, unroasted and never taken from a packet meant for people. Whole peanuts are best avoided in spring, when they can be a choking hazard for nestlings. Nyjer seed needs such tiny ports that it is better suited to a purpose-made feeder.

Never put out bread, milk, cooked leftovers or anything mouldy, and avoid fat balls sold in loose mesh nets, which can trap birds' feet and tongues. A shallow dish of clean water nearby is a welcome addition all year round.

Siting and Hanging Your Feeder

Position matters more than most people expect. Hang your feeder roughly two metres from a dense hedge or shrub, so birds can dash for cover if a sparrowhawk appears, but not so close that a cat can lie in wait underneath. A height of about 1.5 to 2 metres works well for most species.

Keep it away from windows to reduce collisions — either within a metre of the glass, where birds cannot build up speed, or more than three metres away. Shelter from prevailing wind and driving rain helps enormously, as wet seed sours quickly. If rats or squirrels become a problem, take the feeder down for a week or two, clear up every scrap of spilled food and consider moving it to a new spot.

Cleaning: The Part That Really Matters

Feeding birds carries a responsibility, and hygiene is where bottle feeders earn their keep or cause harm. Wash yours at least once a week, and more often in mild, damp weather or when many birds are visiting.

• Empty the feeder completely and dismantle it.
• Scrub every surface with hot soapy water and a bottle brush, paying attention to the ports and the base.
• Disinfect with a bird-safe product or a dilute household bleach solution, then rinse until you can smell nothing at all.
• Allow it to dry thoroughly before refilling — damp seed goes mouldy within days.
• Replace the bottle every few months, as sunlight makes plastic brittle and scratches harbour bacteria.

Learn to recognise trouble: a fluffed-up, lethargic bird, or one sitting alone at the feeder for long periods, can be a sign of disease. If you see it, take the feeder down, clean it thoroughly and leave the area empty for a fortnight before hanging it again. Rotate feeding positions, keep quantities modest, and discard any seed that looks clumped or smells musty. Do that, and a humble plastic bottle will quietly become one of the busiest corners of your garden.