top of page

Potted Bird Feeder

Winter is one of the most important times of the year to take care of visiting birds in the garden. They are always on the lookout for food during these colder months, so feed them with a bird feeder made of a terracotta pot and saucer. These simple little feeders are easy to assemble, take very little time to create and because they are so inexpensive, make great holiday gifts too. It's a gift for both our hungry feathered friends and human bird loving friends as well. 

 

Place the feeder in a sheltered area, protected from wind, perhaps under the limbs of a large tree. The protected location prevents birdseed from blowing into different parts of the garden and birds flock to nestled places. Birds enjoy warmer feeding sites, which is most likely the south side of the house. Make sure however, that the area is a place where birds can see predators, such as a cat or hawk. Lastly, be careful not to set the feeder in front of a window, as literally millions of birds are killed each year by colliding into plate glass.

Materials

  • 1 - 6-inch clay saucer 

  • 1 - 4-inch clay pot 

  • Electric drill with ¼-inch masonry bit 

  • Acrylic spray paint. Jill used hunter green 

  • Complimentary acrylic paint (NOT spray paint) for pots' rim. Jill used celery green 

  • Narrow foam brush 

  • Urethane or other acrylic protective spray gloss 

  • Hot glue and glue gun or white glue 

  • Short twigs or sticks with narrow gauge wire 

  • 1 - 5-inch long, ¼-inch diameter 'hex' bolt 

  • 2 - ¼-inch fender washers 

  • 3 - ¼-inch nuts 

  • ½-inch copper tubing, approximately 3-feet in length

Directions

  1. With masonry bit, drill hole in the center of the saucer. 

  2. Spray paint saucer and pot, let dry. With narrow foam brush, paint the rim of the pot a complimentary color, let dry. Then spray on Urethane or other acrylic protective gloss. When Urethane is dry, hot glue or use white glue to attach short bundle of wired twigs to the side of the saucer.

  3. Place pot on top of saucer. Now place one washer inside clay pot; line up the holes of the washer, pot and saucer. Insert bolt through washer, pot and saucer (the hexagon head of the bolt should be inside the pot). Put another washer through the bolt, this washer will end up at the bottom of the saucer. Secure all materials in place with a nut. 

  4. Use 2 other nuts lower down on the bolt to keep the bird feeder more stable. 

  5. Push copper tubing into garden soil. Insert bolt with nuts, all attached to saucer and pot, now the birdfeeder, inside copper tubing. 

  6. Fill bird feeder with birdseed.

My best,

bottom of page