Wooden Bird Feeding Station & DIY Suet Log Feeder

It's proven very difficult to write about this bird feeders' station. Why? I keep feeling the urge to get up and walk to the window to watch any wild birds having a nibble.

What may be needed at a later date, is to set up some sort of webcam aiming at my bird feeding stand. But perhaps you can position your desk near your window so you don't have to?

Anyway, as simple as this rustic bird table with suet log feeder is, it's given me a lot of pleasure. So I'm going to show you my how to build a bird feeder step by step, using a ripped tree. It's so cool to watch how birds pass food from beak to beak. And it's such unique bird feeding table that will be loved!

• Ripped log into slabs (I used a cherry log)
• Fence post or the inner of a stump with 4 sides trimmed off ( mine was an offcut from log bird houses)
• Structural timber for feet
• Branch approx 8cm diameter for suet log (mine was from a hawthorn tree)
• Mitre saw
• Hand saw
• Combi drill
• Impact driver
• Pocket hole jig
• Pocket hole screws
• Jigsaw with a bevel function
• Clamps
• Waterproof exterior wood glue
• Coat hooks or similar
• 28mm flat wood drill bit
• Stainless steel screws
• Longer screws for feet
• Tape measure
• Nails
• Hammer
• Drill bit
• Peanut feeder
• Seed feeder
• Fat ball feeder *I picked mine from Wilko

• Peckish suet nuggets *best bird food as it's getting eaten the quickest!
• Suet Filled half coconut with mealworm *2nd favourite!
• Suet pine cone *3rd favourite
• Peanuts
• Birdseed
• Bread, cake and scones every now and then *Most favourite, but seen as junk food

• You'll find the easier to reach grub on your homemade bird table will go first like suet before they need to work harder for peanuts and seeds in hangers
• Some birds prefer nuts in the colder months
• You may prefer to only fill the hangers a 3rd of the way up in case they go off - I couldn't resist filling all the way to the top, later(!)
• A former RSPB volunteer informs me that you shouldn't really offer a bird feed station during nesting season as chicks can choke and die on seeds. They're better hunting for worms and spiders
• Niger bird seeds are usually only eaten by select birds, such as Goldfinches, Collared Dove, Greenfinches, etc

• If you don't want to make a suet log feeder, you could make a DIY peanut feeder by drilling holes in wood and stuffing with peanuts
• You could drill larger holes with a hole saw in any untreated natural wood or fallen branch and stuff with suet, then hang several around the garden with eyelets and string
• Note, be extremely cautious if wanting to make a pallet wood bird table as it may be contaminated with chemicals, depending on its original use
• Why not hang or mount a bird water bowl to your wild bird feeding station? *I recycled a small baking dish and placed on the ground for now
• If you're not looking for a DIY wood bird feeder tree project, you might like a suction cup window bird feeder and watch them closer
• Make your own bird table seed and suet mix, set in a tea cup and glue to a saucer before hanging or smother pinecones and hang
• Hang a homemade suet cage, but be careful you've cut away any sharp edges
• For a beginner's project, a wooden ground bird feeder with roof or without is an option. Create a box shape with framing timber, screw 4 legs on and staple fine mesh to hold the food

Keep scrolling down to see how to make bird feeders out of wood!

When trying to home a feeding station for birds, it's best to keep away from fencing and trees to prevent danger, like cats, foxes, etc lurking with ease. This allows the birds to flee in good time.

To prevent conflict, try to spread a series of bird feeder tables or stands around the garden.

Also, avoid placing bird nest boxes adjacent to your homemade bird feeding station to minimise disruption, however tempting it may be.

If you'd like to build your own bird feeders and table, then click here: .

Please only treat my easy bird feeder plans as a guide as you may prefer something taller and be using different materials. Howev, t

If you prefer to build bird feeders that are taller, such as 4ft tall, I recommend an additional 30cm onto the length of your feet as a minimum to prevent it from falling down.

To make your wooden log bird feeder table the most aesthetically pleasing, I recommend cutting the same two ends of a face piece and an inner slab.

If you see below, it lines up perfectly where the knots are. And any offcuts you are left with are perfect to cut the side sections and later, two lips to prevent food falling off the table.

It will also be a more attractive bird table with the more knots and bark. It also doesn't matter if the hardwood is wet or not as the birds will likely peck it well before it rots.

First, carefully cut your materials as per my cutting list, or to your own preferences. Above, I'm cross cutting with a mitre saw, but I suggest only using a hand saw where possible to prevent kickback. This is where I love my clamps.

Note, the ripped cherry log was cut down my Dad's woodyard using his a giant band saw with a 4" blade. Understandably, most home DIYers won't have access to this, so again, this can be done with a hand saw, elbow grease and time.

Remember: birds won't care if your cuts aren't straight! And the more uneven, the more rustic DIY bird feeder you'll have! *Also, you can't treat wet wood anyway and it's dangerous for birds!

There are many different ways to create a bird table stand. However, I was going to create a half lap joint but my CLS timber wasn't wide enough.

Alternatively, you could mitre some legs and screw them to the bird feeder DIY log-leg to get more height, but I couldn't be bothered in all honestly.

SO, I went for the easiest option by using CLS offcuts and mitring the top ends for detail before gluing and screwing.

Note, the biggest mistake you can make is creating feet that are too small. It's best to make the base as big as you can to prevent it falling over in the wind or uneven ground.

Now that my simple wooden bird feeder has feet, it's time to add the cherry slab tray.

I held it on top, checking with a tape measure to evenly place it as best as I could. Note, this is pretty much impossible as the edges are wavy, so eyeballing it is required.

Then once I was happy, drew from underneath for a reference point, so I could remove, glue the top of the post. Then line back up before screwing down with 2 stainless steel screws.

Once you cut the two side panels, I recommend you check with part if better facing upwards or downwards in case the wood naturally tapers. OR, you may want to cut a shape as a wall.

To screw the top section, you have 5 choices:

• If the roof is fairly slim, you can screw from above, down into the side sections
• Screw together with corner brackets
• Toenail screws
• Use dowel pins to screw together
• Use a pocket holes and glue and screw together (as featured in the picture above and below)

While using a pocket hole jig isn't fine carpentry, it's super easy for beginners. You can see how I set up a pocket hole jig here in my DIY pine coffee table.

It works by predrilling pilot holes on an angle, ideally along with the grain for best strength.

Then simply glue and screw together with special pocket hole screws.

But, to make what I consider a very cool bird table, all I needed to do was line up the top to the platform and predrill and screw into gthe bottom of the sides from underneath.

Again, I used waterproof wood glue for this for extra strength.

If you find the overhangs are uneven, you could always handsaw them down to match. Just note, any overhang will also be used by your birds. BUT, an overhang will also clash with hanging seed feeder containers.

Although not strictly essential, I had lots of wood leftover to create two bevelled lips to prevent food from falling off. Also, note, that these naturally wavy edges have created a platform for birds to perch on, which I enjoy seeing.

I didn't need these to be super tidy, so clamped a piece to my homemade sawhorses and created angled cuts with my jigsaw.

And once cut down to the right length, I predrilled screw holes on an angle before gluing and screwing them down.

For the next step, I wanted to reinforce the table on the post while adding a bit of decoration.

I had a small offcut from the same post from a previous job and hand sawed it in half. Then glued and screwed a block either side of the post.

Then created a curve on another cherry wood slab using a large bowl and cut with a jigsaw. I repeated so I had two pieces for the front and back.

I then nailed them on either side. This would also give a decorative mounting platform for hanging food.

Note, you could cut larger pieces if you wish with larger mounting blocks.

It really depends on how large or heavy your bird feeder table station is or is going to be.

Now it's time to personalise your bird feeding station. And I'll be honest, apart from attracting birds with bread, I had no experience with types of food or expectations.

So I decided to offer a selection of bird foods to see what my locals would eat and who I could attract. I've also created it in a way that these bird feeding ideas are easily interchangeable and all hanging by screwed-on coat hooks.

As mentioned earlier, you could easily hang filled coconuts, mount a mini water feeder etc. But so far, we've seen coal tits, starlings, blackbirds and pigeons and doves.

Note, I may also drill holes in the sides of the top roof to push peanuts in as the birds like to stand on the top of the coat hooks!

After hanging all of the food in cages, I felt it needed something else, but I couldn't work out what. And while seeing birds feasting at the table, I realised there was plenty of headroom to install DIY suet logs for birds above.

Later that day during a dog walk, I found a fallen Hawthorn tree branch that I took home and cut down by hand to the internal width of my log bird table.

I then clamped it to my sawhorses and partially drilled a series of 28mm holes on the front and back with a hole saw. Note, this DIY suet log feeder does not need to look pretty. Your birds won't judge!

Technically, you could call these homemade bird feeders out of wood a suet plug feeder. I lined it up towards the top, just underneath the roof, and screwed it in from the outside. However, note, I had to change some screw positions to make it safe as a couple poked through the drilled holes. I'll have no injuries on my bird watch!

I then filled the holes by pressing in Peckish Bird Food nuggets I'd picked up from B&M. I'm not sure whether it's because it's had head height, but this has been extremely popular.

The birds love to peck away and it's full of nutritious seeds. So much so, I'm tempted to make more wooden suet feeders for around the garden. But, you could also make some homemade suet blocks with using a mix of lard and birdseed, etc. Or, buy it in blocks and squish torn bits in for a simple bird feeder.

See my Bird Feeding Station in Action Here on Instagram!

• For easy DIY birdfeeders, slice a log in half, lengthways, then chisel a square under one for the post to slot on, then continue with this idea
• An alternative DIY wooden bird feeder is to hand saw a slice off either end, then cut 4 sides off and remove the inner and one face. Then screw the 2 ends back on and hang from a tree
• Use a thick branch as the post and continue with the rest of this design
• Research native bird feeder designs for your local area. Or, for example, you may want to make a DIY parrot feeder for home instead

  
  

• 
  

  Ripped log into slabs (I used a cherry log)

• 
  

  Fence post or the inner of a stump with 4 sides trimmed off (mine was an offcut from log bird houses)

• 
  

  Structural timber for feet

• 
  

  Branch approx 8cm diameter for suet log (mine was from a hawthorn tree)

• 
  

  Pocket hole screws

• 
  

  Waterproof wood glue

• 
  

  Hooks

• 
  

  Stainless steel screws

• 
  

  Longer screws for feet

• 
  

  Nails

• 
  

  Peanut feeder

• 
  

  Seed feeder

• 
  

  Fat ball feeder

• 
  

  Peckish suet nuggets *best bird food as it's getting eaten the quickest!

• 
  

  Suet Filled half coconut with mealworm *2nd favourite!

• 
  

  Suet pine cone *3rd favourite

• 
  

  Peanuts

• 
  

  Birdseed

• 
  

  Bread, cake and scones every now and then *Most favourite, but seen as junk food

• 
  

  Mitre saw

• 
  

  Hand saw

• 
  

  Combi drill

• 
  

  Impact driver

• 
  

  Pocket hole jig

• 
  

  Jigsaw with a bevel function

• 
  

  Clamps

• 
  

  28mm flat wood drill bit

• 
  

  Tape measure

• 
  

  Hammer

• 
  

  Drill bit

1. Cut your wood as per my free homemade bird feeder plans.
2. Glue and screw the feet onto the base.
3. Repeat gluing and screwing the platform onto the top of the post.
4. Drill pocket holes to the top of the side sections, then glue and screw to the DIY log roof
5. Line up on to the platform, then predrill and screw down from underneath.
6. Bevel two strips with an angled jigsaw for the platform's lip, then predrill, glue and screw down.
7. Cut two blocks to screw to the top of the post for support
8. Draw around a bowl or something curvy on more log slabs, then cut with a jigsaw and repeat.
9. Nail these pieces on the front and back of the top of the post.
10. Screw on hanging peanut feeders, seed feeders, etc.
11. For log suet feeders, cut a branch to the internal width of the bird feeding station and drill a series of 28mm holes on both sides, but not going all the way through.
12. Screw the DIY feeder log between the sides, being careful the screws don't poke through the holes, then fill with bird suet or a mix of lard and seeds.

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