Did I say bookshelves? I meant birdfeeders. (I could really use a new bookshelf, though, and all this woodworking—if you can you call drilling holes into a log woodworking—has got my subconscious thinking it can make one. Ha.)
Anyhoo …
As I mentioned yesterday, I am making birdfeeders for the fourth-graders participating in my birding class this winter. The class is a short and simple two-week introduction to birds followed by a weekend field event during which we’ll count birds for MassAudubon’s Focus on Feeders citizen science project. The class starts soon and I’ve been a’practicing my feeder-making.
I wanted something simple so that kids could make additional birdfeeders at home with their families. And I wanted something natural-looking, because we’ll be placing our feeders along a nature trail behind a school; anything too shiny and new is quickly (sadly) vandalized. The feeders I settled on were described in the book THE CURIOUS NATURALIST, A Handbook of Crafts, Games, Activities, and Ideas for Teaching Children about the Magical World of Nature, by John Mitchell and The Massachusetts Audubon Society (Prentice Hall, 1980). And I wasn’t kidding when I called them easy peasy.
Supplies:
1. a log (size is up to you; I found logs 1.5 to 3 inches in diameter and about a foot long to be ideal)
2. a drill (I tried gauging holes with an array of tools I dug up in the basement, but nothing worked as well as an electric drill fit with the largest bit we had)
3. suet (you can make your own, but I used store-bought suet I had on hand)
4. a spoon (unless you prefer to get sticky!)
Procedure:
1. Drill or sculpt a few holes on one side of your log.
2. Stuff the holes full of suet.
3. Set your feeder outside somewhere, and keep your eyes on it!
It took the dark-eyed junco pictured above about twenty-four hours to find the feeder I set out on our back deck. Then again, we’ve got a pretty large bird population in the yard due to our obsessive feeding practices. Be patient. The birds will find your feeder eventually.
Now, if only building a bookcase could be so simple!
One last reminder: I am raffling off a copy of the magnificent picture book LIVING SUNLIGHT: HOW PLANTS BRING THE EARTH TO LIFE, by Molly Bang and Penny Chisholm. The deadline for entering is tonight at midnight; check out the details in this post.