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Projects for the Birder's Garden: Over 100 Easy Things That You can Make to Turn Your Yard and Garden into a Bird- Friendly Haven
Projects for the Birder's Garden from Fern Marshall Bradley and the Editors of Yankee Magazine lets you create your own private nature preserve-with dozens of ingenious ideas to turn a typical backyard into a beautiful natural habitat for birds and other wildlife.
Experience the gratification of watching birds gobble seeds and other treats from your homemade bird feeder. Look on with delight as a mother bird tends to her babies in the protective hideaway of a birdhouse you have lovingly constructed from a dried gourd. Create a sunflower plantation, a bird teepee, a tent-style twig feeder, a pedestal birdbath. Follow the step-by-step instructions in this book, and your yard will quickly become an enticing playground, breeding ground, and feeding ground for colorful songbirds. And that's not all-there are also projects specially designed to attract beautiful hummingbirds and butterflies to your garden.
Among the book's special features:
- Projects require only a few simple tools and supplies and most can be easily and inexpensively assembled using only scrap materials found around the house
- Information-packed sidebars include tips for identifying the nests and eggs of songbirds and unusual facts and figures about birds and bird behavior
- Instructions show how to create baffles and barriers to keep squirrels, raccoons, and other unwanted guess away from the birdseed-along with projects for tending to these feeder-raiding marauders too!
The simple pleasure of viewing birds in your backyard is something to treasure every day of the year. Whether you are a seasoned bird watcher or are new to the hobby, you will find a wealth of inspirational ideas here to attract more birds than ever before to your backyard. And you'll increase your enjoyment of this soul-satisfying pastime.
Experience the gratification of watching birds gobble seeds and other treats from your homemade bird feeder. Look on with delight as a mother bird tends to her babies in the protective hideaway of a birdhouse you have lovingly constructed from a dried gourd. Create a sunflower plantation, a bird teepee, a tent-style twig feeder, a pedestal birdbath. Follow the step-by-step instructions in this book, and your yard will quickly become an enticing playground, breeding ground, and feeding ground for colorful songbirds. And that's not all-there are also projects specially designed to attract beautiful hummingbirds and butterflies to your garden.
Among the book's special features:
- Projects require only a few simple tools and supplies and most can be easily and inexpensively assembled using only scrap materials found around the house
- Information-packed sidebars include tips for identifying the nests and eggs of songbirds and unusual facts and figures about birds and bird behavior
- Instructions show how to create baffles and barriers to keep squirrels, raccoons, and other unwanted guess away from the birdseed-along with projects for tending to these feeder-raiding marauders too!
The simple pleasure of viewing birds in your backyard is something to treasure every day of the year. Whether you are a seasoned bird watcher or are new to the hobby, you will find a wealth of inspirational ideas here to attract more birds than ever before to your backyard. And you'll increase your enjoyment of this soul-satisfying pastime.
312 pages, Paperback
First published September 8, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
May 7, 2021
Build it and they will arrive in flocks. Birds somehow have their own TripAdvisor app, because they all seem to know where the best flyovers happen to be. This book will help anyone hoping to get more likes from our feathered friends.
There are over one hundred projects here and one doesn’t need to be handy with a hammer to feel a sense of accomplishment. That’s because these are logical and simple tasks that can be done quickly for a variety of different flying visitors. How about Suet Muffins? Marvelous. I wanted to eat them. How about a Worm Farm, using a simple container? Helps the birds in hot weather, when worms burrow deeper to find cooler soil. Ever heard of a Bird Tepee? Fast-growing vines make this a popular spot for wrens and chickadees.
Planting a hedge is one of the simplest ways to gain the attention of birds, because hedges offer them so many benefits.
I can attest to a simple hedge. When I moved into my current abode, there was nothing. The desert sun would hit and not only would the house heat up, but the rock layer would reflect even more heat. No birds even dared to fly over. Now, I have a hedge made up of twelve different plants. The birds not only visit, they feast on the insects that also visit. Plus, I planted a gorgeous Palo Verde tree which breaks into glorious yellow-ness every spring, attracting Road Runners, Quail, Hummers, Finches, and the stunning Western Tanager.
Needless to say, I believe my place is now a Top Ten Must-Visit site for migrating birds. I have already marked five more projects to complete from this book, which is also useful for its information on butterflies. The illustrations are wonderfully done and the instructions are so easy to follow, even a non-DIYer such as myself can make it all happen. My indoor cat can barely wait for the sun to rise each morning so he can sit on the windowsill and watch the birds flit about among the plants and feeders. And the birdsong! All night long during spring and most of the morning the rest of the year. This book has become a permanent part of my collection.
Book Season = Spring (soul-satisfying)
There are over one hundred projects here and one doesn’t need to be handy with a hammer to feel a sense of accomplishment. That’s because these are logical and simple tasks that can be done quickly for a variety of different flying visitors. How about Suet Muffins? Marvelous. I wanted to eat them. How about a Worm Farm, using a simple container? Helps the birds in hot weather, when worms burrow deeper to find cooler soil. Ever heard of a Bird Tepee? Fast-growing vines make this a popular spot for wrens and chickadees.
Planting a hedge is one of the simplest ways to gain the attention of birds, because hedges offer them so many benefits.
I can attest to a simple hedge. When I moved into my current abode, there was nothing. The desert sun would hit and not only would the house heat up, but the rock layer would reflect even more heat. No birds even dared to fly over. Now, I have a hedge made up of twelve different plants. The birds not only visit, they feast on the insects that also visit. Plus, I planted a gorgeous Palo Verde tree which breaks into glorious yellow-ness every spring, attracting Road Runners, Quail, Hummers, Finches, and the stunning Western Tanager.
Needless to say, I believe my place is now a Top Ten Must-Visit site for migrating birds. I have already marked five more projects to complete from this book, which is also useful for its information on butterflies. The illustrations are wonderfully done and the instructions are so easy to follow, even a non-DIYer such as myself can make it all happen. My indoor cat can barely wait for the sun to rise each morning so he can sit on the windowsill and watch the birds flit about among the plants and feeders. And the birdsong! All night long during spring and most of the morning the rest of the year. This book has become a permanent part of my collection.
Book Season = Spring (soul-satisfying)
March 8, 2009
Love this book and its simple instructions on how to attract birds to your backyard.
My favorite tip for encouraging nesting:
"The String Alternative"
Buy one ball of thin and one ball of thick white cotton string. Cut 10-15 six inch lengths and lay in the grass or drape over a bush. Sit back and watch as brilliant orange or yellow orioles, robins, purple marlins, and other birds arrive to snitch a piece of string for their nests.
My favorite tip for encouraging nesting:
"The String Alternative"
Buy one ball of thin and one ball of thick white cotton string. Cut 10-15 six inch lengths and lay in the grass or drape over a bush. Sit back and watch as brilliant orange or yellow orioles, robins, purple marlins, and other birds arrive to snitch a piece of string for their nests.
January 8, 2016
As the title says, lots of projects for the home birder. I already have a fairly extensive bird garden but I found lots of enhancements I can do and some new projects I want to try. The book had specific information about which species like which plants, food, housing, nesting materials, etc. Highly recommend.
October 26, 2013
Some really neat ideas here, that are suitable for both experienced bird feeders and novices. Not to mention lots of ideas for folks like me who are not terribly handy and don't have great green thumbs (or great backyard spaces). I'm definitely going to try some of these ideas.
September 2, 2008
I love this book. I've made all sorts of feeding stations for the birds and squirrels from this book.
March 6, 2019
4 1/4 stars
April 3, 2025
Read part of the book and skimmed through many of the projects. Lots of good ideas but noticed that the editors recommended two highly invasive,non native plants: Callery Pear trees and Barberry shrubs. Also they recommended “strands of human hair from your hair brush” as nesting material. This should not be done as human hair is thin and very strong and can wrap around the feet and wings of baby birds and injure them.
Just checked and realized that this book was published in 2004 when the aforementioned invasives were not well known as such. Possibly the same with the recommendation of human hair
Just checked and realized that this book was published in 2004 when the aforementioned invasives were not well known as such. Possibly the same with the recommendation of human hair
January 20, 2017
How to build birder specials from almost nothing -- and from more upscale projects you can pay someone to build for you, like a beautiful pond, all beautifully hand-drawn.
For instance: Coffee can / aluminum pie pan / cup hook feeder, soda bottles, milk carton, cardboard box feeders. A lightbulb / birdbath warmer idea, nesting boxes, and recipes, this big book is worth picking up and looking through.
For instance: Coffee can / aluminum pie pan / cup hook feeder, soda bottles, milk carton, cardboard box feeders. A lightbulb / birdbath warmer idea, nesting boxes, and recipes, this big book is worth picking up and looking through.
July 1, 2019
This fits a slot for me that might not work as well for other people.
I have a son with limited capacity who adores birds. I like to find projects for him, but often the projects are too difficult or too easy. Too much coloring. Very rarely can you find something in the middle. This book covers some building projects and some gardening projects with some cutting, nailing, drilling, or gluing. It also talks about what kind of seed various common backyard birds like. It's a nice easy book for adults or intermediate book for children.
I have a son with limited capacity who adores birds. I like to find projects for him, but often the projects are too difficult or too easy. Too much coloring. Very rarely can you find something in the middle. This book covers some building projects and some gardening projects with some cutting, nailing, drilling, or gluing. It also talks about what kind of seed various common backyard birds like. It's a nice easy book for adults or intermediate book for children.
March 5, 2017
Fund book for a non crafty person more of a gardening type who loves amateur bird watching from my living room window. Lots to learn about back yard birding.
March 24, 2025
Some good, easy ideas I hadn’t heard before, but would have been better with color photos.
January 18, 2008
We received this as a Christmas present (thanks Mom & Dad) and are looking forward to turning some gourds we grew this past summer from seed into bird houses in the spring. They're drying in the basement this winter in preparation.
April 26, 2011
We won't be doing the bird feeder projects, but did get some recipes for bird food and found solutions for keeping the blackbirds out of our feeder and wasps out of our hummingbird feeder.
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February 4, 2016My projects to try: suet pie (deep winter) 82, pine cone treats 79-80, suet log feeder 76, coco cabana 57, flowerpot seed bell 36-37, Christmas tree station (Dec) 120.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews