Build a Recycled Bird Feeder
The following instructions for constructing a bird feeder using a recycled soft drink bottle, recycled foil pie plate and other materials, was downloaded from Ibarra Martinez' Recycled Birdfeeder site at Homestead.
This bird feeder is simple enough to make in the classroom. It requires simple tools and most of the materials can be easily gathered, for example, after the family had some Chinese take-out food.
The project requires some adult assistance, but the assembly is very easy. The whole project can be completed in less than one hour.
MATERIALS:
one soft drink bottle (2 litres)
two chopsticks
one aluminum plate
25 centimetres of telephone wire or thick fishing line
electrical or duct tape
TOOLS:
craft or "exacto" knife
ruler
PROCEDURE:
- Wash the materials.
- Make a horizontal cut near the bottom of the bottle. About 3 cm long.
- Make two cuts of about 1 cm each, going up from the corners of the previous cut. Together, the three cuts will look like a wide and short letter U.
- Push the flap to the inside of the bottle, and bend it to a 90-degree angle.
- Repeat steps 2 to 4 on the opposite side of the bottle.
- Tape the chopsticks together, making a longer stick of about 30 cm in total.
- With 12 cm of telephone wire, make a tight loop around the chopsticks.
- Make little "hooks" at the ends of the wire.
- Repeat steps 7 and 8 with another piece of wire.
- Hang the chopsticks from the holes made in step 4. Level the chopsticks by adjusting the size of the "hooks."
- Cut a circle at the centre of the aluminum plate.
- Tape it upside-down to the mouth of the bottle, making sure that the cap can be screwed back in its place.
- Tie a long piece of thick electrical wire to the mouth of the bottle.
- Put the feeder inside a large plastic bag, and fill it 3/4 full of seeds.
- Finally, put the cap back on the bottle; hang the feeder, and...
HAVE FUN WITH YOUR NEW FEATHERED FRIENDS!
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