Bird Feeder From Recyclables!

Well it's now Winter and my little bird friends are looking for something good to eat.  I've got all of these plastic bottles in my recycling bin.  Mmmm.  What can I do to show them I care?  How about make a bird feeder!  It's simple and fun so let's get started.

Materials:

Plastic Roasted Peanuts Jar

Plastic Gallon Apple Juice Bottle (the bottom 3 inches to be exact)

Two Plastic Locking Ties (I used the largest)

Large Sharp Needle (or drill, it really depends on the thickness of your plastic)

Scissors

Marking Pen

Directions:

First, gather all of your materials, wash them out and let them air dry.  Flip your peanut jar upside down and make two marks on the bottom as I've show in Figure 1.  Next, take the bottom portion of your apple juice bottle and place it over your peanut jar so the markings you made on the bottom of that jar show through.  Now, make the exact same markings on the bottom of your apple juice bottle so they line up.  Set your apple juice bottom aside and using your scissors cut an oval at the very bottom of your peanut jar and duplicate it on the other side of jar - this will let your seed filter out so there will be some in the tray for your bird friends.  After you've cut out your ovals, poke the two holes out in the bottom of your jar using the markings you made earlier as a guide.  Make them large enough so your plastic locking tie will fit through.  After you've made your holes in the peanut jar, do the exact same thing in the bottom of the apple juice bottle.  Now, take one of the plastic locking ties and feed it through the holes in the bottom of your peanut jar.  This task is actually a bit trickier than it sounds.  What I did to make it easier was to fold my plastic locking tie in half and hold it making it crease a bit so it was in the shape of a "v" then I poked my pen through one of the larger ovals I had made in the bottom of the peanut jar as I was feeding it and it went right through.  Pull it, place your apple juice bottle on top and then secure the plastic locking tie and clip off the excess.  Make a hole in the screw on top of your peanut jar and fold the other plastic locking tie in half and feed it through as I've shown in Figure 5.  Fill your finished bird feeder with seed and hang it outside for the birds to enjoy!

Now you don't have to use the containers that I've used exactly.  Be creative.  As long as the feeding tube portion is tall and thin and the plastic bottom you use is large enough that it makes a good tray with a little room for a bird to sit and have lunch, it doesn't matter what containers you use.  

Have fun watching your feathered friends!