Taj Mahal for the Birds!
3 Materials
$60
5 Days
Easy
Our neighbor asked if we were building the Taj Mahal the other day as we labored to put this project together. I have been a dedicated feeder of my feathered friends for many years. When one of my son's was a teenager we lived in a house with many mature trees and I had bird feeders hanging from most of them and he hated dodging the feeders to mow. In this new house we can't have trees in the front yard (except for three to one side that were already on the lot) because our lateral lines are in front.
We had a handyman install posts in front of the windows so I could feed the birds, but they were just too close to the house. I had seen a bird feeding station project in an issue of Birds and Blooms magazine years ago so I had an idea of what I wanted. We started with 2 4x4" posts cut in half giving us a box 52" across and square.
Our base
We started with 2 4x4" posts cut in half giving us a box 52" across and square. Our yard has a natural swale in it, so to level it we gave it some 4x4 feet.. Then I lined it with good landscape cloth.
Getting there
We used the full 8 foot length of 2 more 4x4 posts and a cross bar on top to hold the feeders. They are screwed together with 6 inch lag screws. The wrought iron hooks and the squirrel baffles we purchased last year for the first set up we had. The squirrel baffles run about $50 each on Amazon and the hooks are probably $7-10 each on Amazon also. The feeders are a jumble I've had for years. The chain is left over from our build.
Next we filled the middle space with gravel from the pile next to our driveway. I moved the birdbath so the squirrels wouldn't use it as a launching pad. Our front yard landscaping is a work in progress. A little funny when I moved the bird bath I had turned it upside down and a dove landed on it and was peering down into the hole of the base looking for the water. I ran out right away and turned it back over. I didn't want it to get in there and get stuck.
Finished!
Last step was to purchase some pavers to cover the gravel. I'm hoping I can just sweep or hose the pavers off to keep the mess down. It has already improved my bird watching experience because now I can see the ground feeders. I counted 17 different species of birds just today. My husband couldn't see them at all from his desk before so he is enjoying the new view too.
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3 comments
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Ohh fun, I love it!
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