Cedar Platform Bird Feeder – Daniel D. Brown, 2018

Another Saturday, another quick little project. Made this bird feeder so that when we chill on our porch we’ll have lots of birdies more or less at eye level. Also the porch should stay cleaner with the lower overhang than our previous feeder. And you can’t make it any easier than this to refill. I’m pretty happy with how it turned out considering I designed it 100% on the fly as I was putting it together. Made from cheap cedar fence planks. I should probably put a finish on it. But I like raw cedar and don’t have to worry about toxicity. Most of it is strategically screwed, so it will hopefully hold up, and what little glue is in it is titebond III and should hold up to moisture (the whole thing is covered by the porch roof anyway). Worst case scenario: it eventually falls apart and I make a better one.

 

Cedar Birdhouses – Daniel D. Brown, 2018

The birds have started staking out their territories in our neighborhood. So I threw together a few super quick nestboxes this evening (plans courtesy Cornell Lab of Ornithology @cornellbirds) for us and our neighbors. These are rough unfinished cedar planks and galvanized nails only. Nothing fancy or decorative here. Pure function (though I dig the rustic cedar look). One side pivots out for cleaning the inside between seasons.
If you’re a friend and/or Pittsburgher and want a handmade nestbox like this, hit me up. It’s pretty easy and I’d do it for like $15. 
These holes are 1 1/4” – for titmouse sized birds (though I’m sure house sparrows will end up claiming it). I can make smaller holes for chickadees and the like.
I’d really like to make an American Kestrel box. I know we have them in the hood. But there’s no way I could get it high enough. haha.