Recycled plastic bottle bird feeder
I like to recycle plastic as much as possible, and love this idea for using plastic cold drink bottles to make a bird feeder for the local bird life.
YOU WILL NEED:
3 Plastic cold drink bottles, washed
Craft knife and scissors
Sellotape
Drill / Driver and 3mm drill bit
Funnel
Wild bird seed
HERE'S HOW:
1. Cut off the top of two of the bottles using a craft knife or scissors.
2. Use the side seams on the bottle as a guide for removing a section of the top, along the bottom edge. You want to remove a piece that is approximately 15mm wide and 15mm over the seam on both sides.
3. Cut out a 5mm wide opening to leave two flaps on either side.
4. Bend the flaps over and slightly downwards and secure with a few strips of sellotape on one side.
5. Repeat for the other side. This creates a nice seed bowl for the birds to have easy access to.
6. Use a 3mm drill bit to drill a hole in both side seams about 20mm up from the bulge on the base of the bottle.
7. Insert scissors into the hole and cut small slits outwards. The cut slits should be slightly larger in length than the total diameter of the bottle cap.
8. Now use scissors to remove some of the excess plastic where you cut the slits. You want to leave some of the cut plastic slit behind to hook nicely onto the thread of the bottle and hold it firmly in place.
9. Gently push the seed holders into the cut out holes. Push them in as far as they will go, and make sure they are firmly mounted.
10. To add some weight to the bird feeder, I filled up with small gravel until just under the holes for the feeders.
Now you are ready to fill up with wild bird seed and pop on the top.
Make sure that the bird seed flows into the seed holders. The design prevents the seed holders from overflowing and also automatically releases seed into them as they empty. If you find this doesn't happen, adjust the angle of the seed holders until the bird seed flows nicely.
