Thursday 7 January 2010

Simplify and improve...


Following traditional invention processes, I dreamed about the bottle and realised that it could be made simpler...

The same inverted base but just one bottle involved. No waste!





The Marsh Tits have no preference for either and they are the most frequent visitors.

Meanwhile, on the lawn, the cold has encouraged Blackbirds, Songthrush and Starlings to return. Wrens and Yellowhammers ignore my activity and eachother. There is inevitably, evidence of a recently sighted Sparrowhawk taking understandable advantage. I shall spare you that one.


..and the Woodpecker has become more curious....




The other major predator just can't be bothered.



This one is really worth enlarging!

Friday 1 January 2010

The bird feeder recipe...


Having tried with limited success (I am still waiting to hear from the moderators at Ehow in California), I have decided to publish my 'Blue Peter Make' here, where I know what I'm doing!

I did a search online to see if there was somewhere that described the use of those beautiful jellyfish


type shapes at the base of pop bottles. I felt that they should at least offer an aesthetic to the 'Bird Feeder From A Bottle'. As it was, my search turned up nothing. So, in true Hesketh tradition, I began by working backwards from deconstruction...

Most of the other recycling sites merely suggest drilling holes in the tops of empty bottles and cutting access platforms... All well and good but not very elegant. Here then is my recipe...


What you need:

2 x 500 ml bottles. Water, Pop etc.
1 Wire coat hanger.
1 Bamboo skewer approx 30 cm, cut into two.
Pliers
Drill and 3.5 ml and 8 ml bits.
Serrated kitchen knife or hacksaw.
Craft knife/ scissors.
Electrician's tape.




1. Cut one of the bottles as shown and discard the resultant tube of plastic. We are only
interested in the top and bottom.
















2. Carefully cut around the top of one of the bottle lids. The aim is to create a threaded sleeve that will unite both bottle necks..



3. Position the two small pieces of bottle as here...

If you have cut squarely (I followed manufacture marks and this worked well..) a simple push fit will result in a satisfactory base hopper unity with no wrinkles or bulges.

4. Using the 3.5 ml bit, drill four holes an the four faces of this unit, being careful to offset top and bottom to allow for the positioning of the skewers as shown..


5. Using the 8ml bit, drill half a dozen holes in the 'shoulders' of the hopper. Positioning is not crucial but cleaning 'sprue' out is. Plastic shards are no substitute for seed!


6. Drill two 3.5 ml holes in the bottom of the complete bottle to allow for the coat hanger wire 'Suspension assembly'.. (If anyone has any ideas how to avoid this patently dampening design fault please let me know..)



7. Position the threaded collar onto the complete bottle with enough thread to accommodate the hopper base. If you have not left enough thread, don't despair. Electrician's tape will hold it all together..
Fill the bottle and screw/tape the two pieces together.

Voila..














Someone likes it!

Northumberland snow


Overnight, 6 inches of snow and rising....


Extra food required. The blackbirds seem to be more tolerant of eachother and smaller birds braver all round..