Background
Near the end of August 2019, I was noticing a lot of neat birds like Robins and Bluejays landing in the trees that my bedroom window overlooks. One day I had an idea that it would be really neat to have a bird feeder mounted in front of my window, because then I could watch the birds while working at my desk. My first thought was that I could buy one, but I realized that this could be a good learning opportunity, so I decided to build it out of wood and plexiglass. At the time, I didn't know AutoCAD or SolidWorks, and I didn't have any design experience, so I ended up using a free online schematic on which I based my build.
Fabrication
To build the birdhouse, I used one wooden board 3/4" thick, one piece of very thin plexiglass, one long hinge, and one 3/8" wooden dowel. The design was made for 1" board, but I didn't have one, so I adjusted the measurements for the 3/4" thickness, and I think it turned out even better than the original design, because it has more volume and it looks sleeker. I used a pencil to mark up the board, making sure to minimize wastage by strategically placing my cuts, and I used a sawzall to make the cuts. For the plexiglass, I used a knife to carefully score, then break it, since all I needed were simple rectangles. To make the notches that the plexiglass slides into, I used a dremel. I assembled the bird feeder using wood screws and the hinge, and for the dowels I was able to simply press fit them into the drilled holes. I painted it blue and yellow because I wanted it to be very bright, and the colours have proven themselves to be very long-lasting. I mounted it outside my window on a metal pole, and I did that by taking three blocks of wood, screwing them on top of one another, and drilling a hole straight through where the metal pole would go. I then screwed the blocks to the bottom of the bird feeder, hammered the pole into the ground, and the bird feeder was done.
Outcomes
The main outcome is that I now have a lovely bird feeder in my bedroom window! The birds love it (and the chipmunks), and I love to watch all the activity outside my window. Because of its design, I don't have to fill it often, and the majority of the seed that's in there is protected from the rain, so it doesn't rot. As well, I gained a lot of valuable wood working skills, that I can hopefully apply to anything else that needs making in my life.
Four years later (2023), the paint is still pretty vibrant, but there are some sections that are stained from where bird feed got soaked after a heavy storm. Also, the wood blocks that mount the house to the pole ended up swelling and splitting after a while, so I had to replace those. Overall though, it's still in use during the summer and it's still surviving!
Photos
 |
 |
 |
 |