During the winter season for many species of birds it will be less easy to find fruit on trees or even more difficult to catch insects. These species therefore change from necessity their diet, becoming omnivorous.
That’s where you come in! You can help by making and installing feeders in your wild garden, and thus have the opportunity to attract and observe more different species.
What kind of food do they like?
Food
Corn seeds, hemp and chopped corn
Sunflower oil
Sweet crumbs
Dried fruit
Fresh fruit
Fat and meat
Species attracted
Chaffinch, greenfinch, goldfinch
Chaffinch, greenfinch, tit, nuthatch
Robin, tit, nuthatch, chaffinch, blackbird, starling, blackcap
Tit, nuthatch
Blackbird, starling, blackcap, robin, blue tit
Tit, starling, robin, blackbird
There are many different types of feeders on sale, all easily available.
Here we will explain how to build one, using recycled material. A double help to Nature! But first of all:
Some useful instructions for installation:
- Should be placed away from strong winds and rain;
- Possibly always near thick shrubs, bushes, hedges and branched trees;
- Keep out of reach of cats and dogs;
- Must be strongly fixed to a tree trunk or hung, without too long ropes that can cause a swing effect;
- Keep always the food fresh.
Materials
- Milk or fruit juice carton
- Cutter
- Tape
- Waterproof or water-resistant lanyard
- Wooden stick
- Leaves to decorate
- Food (choose from the above list)
Instructions
- Wash and rinse carefully the tetrapak container
- Get help from an adult, and with the cutter, make on one of the wide sides a sort of window to insert food and where the birds will enter
- Drill a hole under the window and insert a wooden stick, which will be used as a perch. Fix it with tape if necessary, to avoid it moving too much
- Make one or two holes on the top of the container, and insert the lanyard that will be used to hang the manger
- Trim the manger if you want, using leaves to make it as natural as possible
- Now just hang up the manger, put food on, and wait for some birds to get close
