He Turns Scraps From Free Wood Pallets Into A Charming Bird Feeder That Keeps Seed Drier

Few things are more pleasing to a bird lover than watching your favorite feathered friends feast at a bird feeder in your own garden — except, perhaps, watching them dine from one that you built with your own hands, using materials that might otherwise end up in a landfill. That's just what YouTube creator Steve Ramsey did for his DIY channel, Woodworking for Mere Mortals. He transformed an old pallet into a charming bird feeder shaped like a porch swing. It even comes complete with armrests and a slatted back. Moreover, beneath the elevated seat lies a next-level practical feature for staving off soggy seeds: a layer of aluminum window screen that allows rainwater to drain through, preventing it from pooling.

Beyond a design that's bird-friendly and an amusing delight for onlookers, this DIY project combines sustainability with thoughtful functionality. It relies primarily on reclaimed pallet wood, along with a small piece of aluminum window screen, wood glue, screws, hanging rope, and an outdoor-safe finish. If sourcing free wooden pallets is how you plan to obtain wood for this DIY, be sure to look for the HT (heat-treated) stamp, which indicates the wood was heat-treated rather than chemically fumigated. Avoid pallets marked MB, which signifies treatment with methyl bromide, a toxic pesticide that isn't suitable for DIY projects and most definitely isn't food-safe for birds.

To make his bird feeder, Steve Ramsey starts by cutting pallet slats into narrow strips, cutting these to length, and gluing them together to form a ladder-shaped design that mimics the look of a traditional wooden porch swing back. Then, he creates two small frames for the seat, sandwiches window screens between them, and glues it all together. The last steps involve finishing the bird feeder with water-based polyurethane and adding a string at the ends for hanging. While Ramsey doesn't specify, if you recreate this project, always let your finish cure fully before setting it up to ensure it's waterproof and won't contaminate the seed.

You can further customize the design by adding a small roof over the swing to help shield the birdseed from rain or swapping the hanging rope for decorative chain to give it an even more porch swing-like look. You can also skip the swing and adopt Ramsey's screen-sandwiching method for a basic wood seed platform beneath a pitched roof or any other design you dream up.

When sourcing wood for your own DIY bird feeder, you don't have to use recycled wood pallets. If you'd prefer a simple trip to the hardware store, feel free to use any wood you'd like. Pressure-treated lumber and cedar are two excellent rot-resistant options if you're not familiar with wood finishes or would rather skip them.