While we’re on the subject of cheap, effective, easy to make
feeder stands, I wanted to pass along one of my favorite perches for
Woodpeckers (and loads of other birds). While the previous stand I blogged
about was cheap (less than $20 - link on the right side of the page), this one is darned near free! Below is a
wide-shot of the feeder:
o 1 log about 3
feet long with a diameter of 4 or 5 inches
o 1 scrap piece of 2x12 board maybe 2 feet long or a similar
piece of plywood
o 2 decent sized nails
o Hammer
o Hand Drill with 1/4 inch and 1 inch drill
bits
o Suet or Peanut Butter
o 2 Cans of Beer (optional - see following paragraph)
If you don’t have these larger drill bits – DON’T BUY THEM!
Your next door neighbor has them, just borrow them and share the beer. The diameter of the holes you use isn’t terribly important. Larger or
smaller is fine:
Not to insult your intelligence, but here’s what you do with
the above pile of stuff. Nail the log to the board - go crazy and use both nails. I use a smallish log for
this purpose because it's easier to move around the yard. Drill a 1/4
inch diameter about an inch deep in the top of the log. Cram it full of peanut butter or suet (that's the brown muck in the middle):
Place the setup near your regular feeders for a day or two
so that the woodpeckers learn how to use it. Once they figure it out, they will
check it out often for goodies.
I like to position the holes so that they are just out of
sight of the camera. This also puts the birds at the perfect angle for photos.
I place the feeder where the light is good and the background is nice. Below is
a focused shot of the background I used for most of the shots below which makes a
nice, colorful background when it’s out of focus:
When you put this device near other feeders, all sorts of
birds that aren’t looking for peanut butter or suet will use the top for a perch
going to or from someplace else. Here's some of the shots - Downy Woodpecker (the 1 inch hole is in front of the bird, just out of sight):
Hairy Woodpecker:
Red-bellied Woodpecker on the top hole:
White-breasted Nuthatch (the hole with peanut butter is near the tail):
Tufted Titmouse:
Bluebird using the top for other purposes (eating an insect):
Thanks for stopping by! You can see more of my work at:
and:
www.flickr.com/photos/steve_byland/
My email is sbbyland@aol.com
Thanks for sharing these great shots here buddy. I am also a Port Macquarie Photographer and I am also interested in wild life photography. Do update me if you find any job for me.
ReplyDeleteNice post. It is really interesting. Thanks for sharing the post!
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