How To Transform An Old Wine Bottle Into A Bird Feeder For Your Garden

Filling the bird feeder can be a daily chore if you have a big enough crowd. You can make it a little more fun and personalized if you take the opportunity to build this DIY wine bottle bird feeder for the backyard. This hack can help you get rid of scrap wood you might have lying around and upcycle that wine bottle. It's one of many ways to transform common household items into garden treasures.

It's a good idea to have more than one feeder anyway, especially if you've got territorial birds like blue jays, which might not be the bird you want to see in your yard. They can bully others at the feeder. Having more feeders for birds to choose from might reduce the number of bird fights. It's a bonus if you can make one yourself.

The wine bottle birdfeeder concept is relatively straightforward. You're going to build a wooden backing and then a seed tray. You'll fill the wine bottle with seed and hang it upside down. The seed flows out into the small wooden dish at the bottom. To get started on this project, you'll need an empty wine bottle, a saw, a drill, wood glue, some screws, and a 1-inch by 5-inch piece of wood, as well as three 1-inch by 1-inch pieces to make the seed reservoir. You can opt to make wooden brackets to secure the wine bottle, or you can grab a couple of hose clamps to keep it in place. 

To get started, cut your 1-inch by 5-inch board a few inches longer than the wine bottle itself. Also, cut a square to make the seed reservoir. Screw or glue your 1-inch by 1-inch pieces to this square, and then fix the reservoir to the bottom of your backboard with sturdy screws. If you plan on holding the bottle with wooden brackets, you'll need to cut two more squares of wood. Then, you can measure and cut out holes for the neck of the bottle and the base. Screw these pieces to the backboard as well. Keep in mind, the bottleneck will need enough room for seeds to flow out.  

If you opt for a hose clamp, then drill holes in the backboard for the hose clamp to loop through the board and the bottle. Next, if you have wood left over, make a roof for your feeder, either using a hinge or two pieces of wood that might come together in a cute point. Next, fill the wine bottle with bird seed, and then turn it upside down, running it through your wooden brackets or fastening it with your hose clamp. 

You probably want to attach this feeder to a stand or to your fence for stability and to avoid having the heavy glass bottle topple over. Then, watch the birds come to feed. As they deplete seeds, more tumble out of the bottle. For another DIY bird feeder, try converting a chipped coffee mug.