12 clever ways to turn scrap wood into bird magnets for your yard

Scrap wood can be quite a frustrating conundrum for DIYers and woodworkers. You know a perfectly square piece of plywood is good for something, but it’s too small for most home improvement projects and there are too many scraps to store it all that long. The answer to this puzzle is already in your own habits: create something quick and useful for one of your hobbies. And if you become a bird watcher or just enjoy outdoor living, the possibilities are endless.

Things that attract birds are usually the simple necessities of bird life: water, food, and shelter. Of course, water and wood don’t mix well, but there are ways to make a project like a DIY birdbath even better by accessorizing it with a wooden stand or perch. Feeders and nesting boxes are great uses for scrap wood, although be careful to use only untreated wood and non-toxic finishes and sealers.

Most of these projects can be completed with the simplest of tools and perhaps a hammer, hacksaw, and miter box. (This is one disadvantage of using scrap wood: cutting small wood becomes a bit more difficult, not easier). If you have a miter saw, circular saw, or even a jigsaw, these projects take almost no time.

Here’s a great way to create a great bathing spot for your backyard birds. A birdbath stand designed with crossed dimensional lumber, such as a short 2×4 cutoff, with a shallow cup-shaped depression cut through the center allows you to use any similarly sized vessel for your birdbath. You don’t need to think much about which container to choose as one An old pot lid can be repurposed into a beautiful DIY birdbath. The wood frame also makes it easy to attach other items to the stand, including the means to mount it in other locations, such as a deck rail or a post in another area of ​​your yard.

A wooden stand also makes it easy to attach a scrap wood perch to your birdbath. The perch itself doesn’t have to be very large, so almost any spare wood will do the trick. Perches are important in that they give birds a moment to check out their environment before diving into the bath and making themselves momentarily vulnerable. It’s also a boon for photographers, who can get what look like posed shots in these birdbaths, which can sometimes be chaotic without a landing zone.

A perch, of course, doesn’t have to be in a birdbath. They have the same encouraging effect anywhere in the yard or garden, but especially near feeders. A perch in the open can be made from almost any spare piece of wood or trim stick, as it doesn’t take long for the average bird to pause for a moment. Whether you stick yours in the ground or mount them on a wall, perches are places to rest, and that’s why they’re also great for birdwatchers and photographers.

As with most bird-related woodworking projects, the feeder is perfect for using scrap wood because the general build doesn’t require any large pieces of wood. Some designs require some plexiglass so you can monitor the seed level and refill if necessary, but this is not critical. Actually, no part of the design is really critical, but there should be some sort of container for the seeds, and for many species having a perch on the feeder is important.

Some gardeners hesitate to invite birds for a garden seat where they are known to peck at fruits and vegetables, but—as with squirrels—the trick to keeping birds docile is to house them well—and deliberately feed them. Just as you provide seating in your yard or garden for other garden visitors, why not provide your birds with a resting and feeding area that doubles as a beautiful bench? We’ve seen a few of these, including one made from pallet wood, and it’s remarkable how little scrap goes into the design.

But feeders don’t have to be pretty, or particularly attractive, to be effective. Simple platform feeders have a lot going for them: they hold lots of seeds, don’t get tangled up with stuck-on food, and usually have a lip around them that birds can sit on while eating or exploring their surroundings. Because this is a small and simple project, it is perfect for scrap wood. Just make sure not to forget the required drainage holes for this feeder.

There are as many birdhouse designs as there are birds, but there are some of the easiest and fastest ways to use scrap wood in your workshop. It’s everyone’s first wood project, but that doesn’t mean an experienced woodworker can’t whip out a few of these in an afternoon for family and friends. There are many designs you can go for that require a small amount of wood. But be sure to pay special attention to overhangs, cleanouts, and mountings if you’re adapting the design to match available scrap wood.

While birdhouses are usually focused on aesthetics and may not be ideal for nesting, nest boxes are usually more focused on the needs of birds that live in the cavity than on appearance. These more utilitarian houses are also suitable for using scrap wood, as they are also simpler in appearance… and often easier to build, usually consisting of a floor, four walls and a sloping roof. If you’re a woodworker who often uses chisels, you may have other scraps that will help make your nest box a success: partially filling it with wood shavings attracts birds and makes them commit to a new home more easily.

Birdhouse entrance holes of a certain size Nest boxes attract certain species and make it impossible for large invasive species to use them. But after a season of use they can be destroyed by birds and predators. Metal entrance guards and hole plates are available, but if you’re willing to invest a couple of minutes a year, you can make your own replaceable wooden hole plates each spring. You will need an appropriately sized hole. Note that 1 ⅛-inch holes are good for some smaller species, and are the standard size for sink faucet holes.

For birds, such as house sparrows, that nest together, a colony nest box may be just what you need to attract them, and you can make one from your scrap wood. The design will vary from species to species, and may have different numbers of compartments, compartment sizes, perch requirements, and the like. But generally you are building a larger than usual nest box and mounting it in the right place for the species you are targeting. Again, be sure to use the correct size hole or forstner bit for the bird you wish to invite.

If you have a covered porch, there’s a good chance you’ve hosted a bird family’s nest at some point, usually high up in a corner. Robins, house finches and song sparrows are among the birds that will use a shelf rather than a nest box, which is more suitable for cavity-dwelling species. This is another complete scrap project as there are quite a few parts and they are all relatively small. Search your nesting shelf according to the species you are trying to attract. Because these birds will occasionally nest on real shelves, your chances of success are very high!