When it comes to bird feeders, the sky is the limit. Rocks, an old toaster, baseball bats, a chrome hubcap, a coconut, a broken aluminum thermos and sundry jars, bottles and pans. In the December '94 issue of the Conservationist, we invited readers to send us pictures and descriptions of their favorite bird feeders. No matter what size city you live in, or spot of ground you have to call your own, hanging up a bird feeder is an easy way to come in contact with the natural world.
Birds are beautiful, amusing and companionable.
Building the right feeder for them, as many letter-writers told us, can be as simple or elaborate an endeavor as you choose. About 85 percent of bird feeder architects we heard from described the ease and satisfaction gained by recycling stuff, turning it into just the thing for cardinals, titmice and, grudgingly, squirrels. Plenty of readers suggested making feeders out of 2-liter soda, bleach and dish soap bottles. Marie Cazaux, a resident of Festus, found a way to recycle a broken thermos. She removed the glass shards, drilled holes horizontally through the thermos canister and placed two long bolts through the holes.