'Natural' bird table

Scots_quine

Scots_quine

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Joan
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Has anyone got any pictures of a natural looking bird table in their gardens? My winter project is to build something that does not look like a conventional bird table so that I can get better shots with my camera. ANy help or tips would be appreciated.
Thanks
 
Not sure if this helps but i read an article recently with a wildlife photgrapher and he made his own bird food mix , seeds , nuts and lard in a blender and then stuffed it in to cracks in tree,s or drilled hole and filled them. It gave a more natural looking platform for the birds rather then the convential table.
 
Thanks everyone. I am going to take a walk in the woods this weekend and get some branches as a start. I already have some logs which I am going to chisel out.
 
hi, i got a couple of conifers we had cut down on a fencing job and concreted them in my nature garden, then chisled out some food areas . in hindsight i would of made them more elaborate but at the time i wasnt thinkin from a photography point of view. i would suggest doing something similiar only better.
 
Concentrate on the trees around the feeder. A lot of birds do not fly straight into the feeder but perch near buy to see if the coast is clear before going to the feeder. You will also find there is a pecking order (no pun intended) and birds will sit to one side until they can get in, often they will use the same branch every time so you can anticipate a shot.
These are my observations after hours sat watching the birds at my five feeders.
 
Scots_quine said:
Thanks everyone. I am going to take a walk in the woods this weekend and get some branches as a start. I already have some logs which I am going to chisel out.
Click to expand...

When you are out, try to find a large branch that is an open "s" shape. I have one about 5" diameter & it stands up, on the grass, with help from two sticks at an angle. Because of the shape, you will have a portion angled to the ground & the top portion parallel.

I have drilled holes just over the log's horizon, when viewed from the hide, & filled them with nuts etc.

Birds like woodpeckers like to climb up the angled part, pecking as they go, other birds favour the parallel top part.

Now that the log's getting old, it's full off splits & cracks that will be great to fill with food, plus it has a nice natural look in shots...

IMG_9546copy.jpg
 
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I went and got a big log that stands upright with some branches and a smaller log that go between that and a normal bird table. cut a groove int he log and fill it with seeds etc. Its work in progress!

Have a look through Richards thread here to give you some ideas
 
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