Last updated on April 29th, 2022 at 01:43 am
Large gazebo bird feeders are a luxurious addition to any yard, and thankfully, they’re not too hard to make. You just have to learn how.
The best way to build a large gazebo bird feeder is to trace a design into pieces of plywood, then cut the wood and assemble the pieces with wood glue and nails. It’s a good idea to sketch out your design ahead of time on a piece of paper so that you’re sure everything will fit as it should.
Steps for Building a Large Gazebo Bird Feeder
Building a gazebo bird feeder is easier than you might think.
It just takes one trip to the hardware store and one afternoon at home to put it together.
And then your backyard birds will have a spacious and clean feeding station.
The following instructions will guide you through gathering your materials, assembling the bird feeder, and filling and placing it.
1. Gather Your Materials
Before you can get started building a gazebo bird feeder, you’ll need to gather the following supplies:
- Plywood (¾-inch thickness)
- Pencil
- Ruler
- Safety Glasses
- Woodcutter
- Hammer
- Galvanized Nails (2-inch)
- Galvanized Pipe Flange
- Threaded Pipe (6-7 feet long)
2. Sketch
When building a gazebo bird feeder, the first thing you should do is sketch out your plans.
You’ll likely want the feeder to have six sides and be about a foot high, with a roof and a feeding platform.
You may want something different, or you might want more decorative features.
Sketch out all of this before getting started, both on paper and in tracings on the wood.
3. Mark the Wood
Use a pencil and a ruler to draw the shapes on the plywood that you’ll need to cut out to create the top, sides, and roof.
You can make the job simple by cutting a rectangle 12 ½ inches by 14 ½ inches, then marking diagonal lines in preparation for cutting off the corners.
The diagonal lines should cut the short side of the plywood in half.
Make sure that you include a cleanout slot and flap for the bottom of the feeder.
The flap should be about two inches long and allow you room to drain out waste through the bottom of the feeder.
4. Cut the Wood
The next step is to put on a pair of safety glasses and cut the wood.
Once you cut the corners off your rectangle of plywood, you’ll be left with a hexagon shape that you can use to make the floor of the feeder.
You’ll also need to cut the sides of the feeder and shingles for the roof, ensuring that they’ll fit in place before you make any cuts.
5. Add Paint or Stain
If you want to paint your gazebo feeder, it’s best to do it before the wood is assembled.
You can also use a stain if you prefer raw wood but still want it to look polished.
In either case, you’ll need to sand and prime the wood before applying a coat of paint or stain.
This ensures that the wood won’t soak in too much or too little paint.
6. Assemble the Walls
The next thing that you need to do is assemble the walls of the gazebo feeder.
Line them up one by one, nailing the pieces together as you go.
You may choose to use walls with some kind of paint, trim, or other decoration on them.
If you want to add this, you should do it before nailing the walls to the floor.
As an alternative, you can use dowel rods to work as support posts at the hexagon corners rather than using plywood to make walls.
7. Put Together the Rafters
The rafters are the next part of the birdhouse that you’ll need to put together.
The rafters are the parts of the roof that hold the shingles, and they need to be carefully measured and put together.
The rafters should be as wide as the sidewalls, then gradually get smaller as you build towards the point of the roof.
8. Create and Attach Shingles
The shingles are a very important part of the feeder as they will protect the seeds from the elements.
You can use wood for this part, but you should treat the wood to ensure that it doesn’t wear away or become affected by the elements.
(Other parts of the house may do well to be treated as well.)
9. Add Trim
This step is optional, but it can make your feeder look more professionally put together.
Simply cut pieces of wood or small dowel rods to shape along the edges of the feeder, then glue or nail them into place.
These won’t impact the function of your feeder, but they will make it more pleasant to look at and, therefore, a better addition to your yard.
10. Add Hardware
Next, you’ll need to add hardware to ensure that you can properly install the feeder.
You can use galvanized screws to attach a galvanized pipe flange, a part that you can use to attach to a stand.
Make sure that the thread on the flange matches the thread on the rod you’ll use to stake in your gazebo feeder.
You’ll also need a screw to install the cleanout flap over the cleanout slot on the bottom of the feeder.
Just make sure that the screw doesn’t poke through the floor and into the seed tray, or else you could injure your birds.
11. Place the Feeder
You should make sure to place your feeder in a safe location that you can see, where birds can access the food but predators cannot.
It’s a good idea to place your feeder either right next to a window or far away from one, as either will minimize the risk of collisions with glass.
The feeder should also be close to trees or shrubs, which act as a shelter for feeding birds.
12. Fill the Feeder
You can fill a gazebo feeder with any kind of birdseed.
But remember that birds will sift through seed blends looking for their favorites and tossing any that they don’t want to eat.
It’s a good idea to set up different feeders for different kinds of seeds so that birds can be picky without being wasteful.
A popular seed like black-oil sunflowers makes sense for a large gazebo bird feeder.
These seeds are also a bit on the large side, making them suitable for a large, open-style feeder.