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How to Make a Song Bird Feeding Station

Watching birds eat, groom and squabble at your bird feeder is a great pastime, and attracting song birds may add sweet sounds, as well. But you don't need to buy anything ready-made; one of the easiest bird feeders to build -- the hanging platform feeder -- also attracts the widest variety of seed-eating birds, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Sparrows, juncos, doves, chickadees, cardinals and jays all enjoy visiting platform feeders.

Things You'll Need

2-by-2-inch wood
Tape measure
Saw
Nails
Hammer
Sturdy, small-mesh screen
Wire cutters
Staple gun
Staples
Chain or rope
Screws
Screwdriver
Carabiner
Shepherd's hook or large hook

Instructions

- 1
  Cut four 12-inch pieces of 2-by-2-inch wood.
- 2
  Nail the pieces together at the corners to form a perfect square.
- 3
  Cut a piece of small-mesh screen large enough to cover the bottom of the square (either side can be the bottom).Tack it to the square with a staple gun. The screen provides the drainage needed to help prevent your bird food from spoiling.
- 4
  Attach one screw per side, near the top of the left-hand corner. Leave roughly 1 inch of the screw protruding from the wood -- just enough to attach your chain or rope.
- 5
  Fasten one strand of chain or rope to each of the four screws and gather all four strands into the carabiner. Adjust the strands until the feeder hangs level.
- 6
  Hang the carabiner from a shepherd's hook or a large hook anchored to a nearby tree branch or pole.
- 7
  Fill your feeder with a variety of seeds and refill it every 1 to 2 days.

Animals & Science