Recycled-bottle Bird Feeder

After making green-roof birdhouses, Rebecca and Jeff Nickols of Strafford, Missouri, wanted to tackle more environmentally-friendly bird projects. Rebecca's bird feeder is made with a pretty green-glass water bottle and heavy copper wire. The wire supports the bottle and adds a flourish. A small ornament can be attached to the copper wire, like a charm on a bracelet. A feeder attachment designed for this purpose will turn a bottle with a screw top into a bird feeder.

Step 1: Gather the Materials

Rebecca suggests using safflower seeds or black-oil sunflower seeds to fill your feeder. She says safflower is a good choice if you have a problem with squirrels, but sunflower seeds will attract the widest variety of birds.

Here's what you'll need:

About 3 feet of 6-gauge copper wire

Vise grip pliers

Glass water bottle with a screw top

Spool of 20-gauge copper wire

Ornament

Jewelry pliers

Soda-bottle feeder attachment

Birdseed

Step 2: Grab the Wire

Grab the end of the 6-gauge copper wire with the vise grip, protecting the copper with a piece of fabric, and make a tight curl.

Step 3: Hold in Place

Hold the curled end near the neck of the bottle.

Step 4: Wind the Wire

Wind the wire around the bottle two or three times. The wire supports the bottle, but it does not need to be snug.

Step 6: Make a Curl

Turn it 90 degrees and make a large curl, holding the wire with the vise grips. The feeder will hang from this twist of wire.

Step 7: Attach Your Ornament

Cut a length of thin copper wire, attach the ornament, and twist the wire onto the larger copper wire around the bottle.

Step 8: Make Tiny Curls

With the jewelry pliers, put a handsome little curl on each end of this lighter wire.

Step 9: Fill and Hang

Fill the bottle with birdseed and screw on the soda-bottle feeder attachment. Hang your bird feeder from a branch or a shepherd's crook.