Flower Shape Bird Feeders Made From Junk

My mum said she liked these bird feeders from the RSPB , so I made one from junk for her birthday. You just stick them in the ground, fill them with whatever seeds or meal, and you're good to go. As these ones are lotus flower shaped, perhaps the little birdies will gain enlightenment from sitting on its sacred petals. Very quick easy project.

You will need:
- yogurt tub or an type of curved plastic tub
- tin can
- threaded rod approx 6mm (1/4")
- bolts for threaded rod

Step 1: Cut the Parts

Cut the tin in half, and fold the sharp edges so the birds don't cut their feet. I did slight undulations, you could do bigger undulations or just straight.

The sides of the yogurt pot forms the petals, so cut away the top and bottom parts of the pot and then cut strips out of the sides. I made a lotus flower, with 8 petals, which curve low. So each pair of petals is made from half the circumference of the pot. The pictures will give you a good idea of what I'm talking about.

You could make any sort of flower, for example a rose or tulip - you might want to use more curvature of the pot so each pair of petals takes us say 3/4 of the circumference. It also depends on how the plastic retains its shape.

Step 2: Drill Everything

drill a 6mm (1/4") hole or whatever size your threaded rod is through the center of the petals and the base of the tin.

then drill drainage holes in the base of the tin.

Step 3: Screw Everything Together

Use the nuts and washers to fit the petals and tin onto the threaded rod. Depending on where you put the nuts, you can change how curved the petals are, by placing them nearer or further from the tin.

Congratulations, you are done!

You can now paint it if you like. I chose not to as I did not have any paints of the right type, and given that the project was made from leftovers, I thought it better to not buy new paint, as I am worried about the environmental impact of paint.

Check with your local bird charities what sort of food to put in.