This week’s post is a fun one for me.  I get to write about three things that I absolutely love; woodworking, cooking and birds!  I’m sharing a tutorial to make a wooden DIY bird feeder hanger using a single 2×2 board.  I’m also sharing my research on homemade hummingbird food.  I honestly didn’t even know that people made their own hummingbird food before I bought a feeder but I quickly learned that it’s much better for the hummingbirds.  Keep scrolling and find out why.

DIY Bird Feeder Hanger Tutorial

I’ll start with the DIY bird feeder hanger.  It was a VERY easy build.  The only lumber that you’ll need for this build is a single 2×2 board.  Here is a complete list of tools and materials.

Materials

2×2 x 72″ board

Ceiling Hook

Brad nails

Drill bit

Deck Screws

Wood glue

Bird feeder ( I went with a Hummingbird Feeder but you could use a bird seed feeder too)

Tools

Miter Saw 

Drill

Brad Nailer 

Tape Measure

Ear Protection

Eye Protection

Dust Mask

HOW TO DOWNLOAD THE BUILD PLANS

If you want to download the pdf plans for this DIY bird feeder hanger, head over to my free resource library page and scroll down to build plans section.  My free downloads are available exclusively for my subscribers.  If you have yet to subscribe, don’t worry, it’s super easy!  Just click here and enter your email.  From there you’ll get a confirmation email with a special secret password to access my free resource library page.

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Progress Photos

Cut the 2×2 board into three pieces as shown in the plans.

Use brad nails to attach the boards to each other.

Pre drill holes for ceiling hook and to where the hanger will attach to the deck post.

Finished DIY Bird Feeder Hanger

Homemade Hummingbird Food

Ok, now lets talk about how to make homemade hummingbird food.  It’s super easy, better for the hummingbirds than the store bought red stuff and it’ll save you money.  Here is the super easy recipe.

1. Mix 4 parts water to 1 part white table sugar
2. Heat water and sugar mixture in a pan to a soft boil.  Let it cool to room temperature before filling your hummingbird feeder.  

I like to make 4 cups of water and 1 cup of sugar at a time and then I put it in a container with a lid in my refrigerator.  We get 4 hummingbirds at our feeder so this amount lasts me about a week.  Every other day when the feeder is empty, I clean it thoroughly with warm water before refilling it.

There is no need to add red dye.  Some sources say that the red dye is bad for the hummingbirds so for that reason alone, even if it isn’t scientifically proven, I’d recommend not using the red dye.  I was worried at first that the hummingbirds wouldn’t be attracted to my feeder if I had clear nectar in it but that wasn’t the case at all.  Since the feeder itself is bright it does a great job of attracting them.  We actually have four hummingbirds fighting over this feeder almost all day.  I think I’ll need to make another one for the other side of the deck.

Before I finish this post, let’s enjoy some amazing hummingbird photos that my husband took over the past few weeks.  They really are beautiful birds.

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