You’re Using Coconuts! Making a Coconut Bird Feeder

Homer: You put the beer in the coconut and drink it all up. You put the beer in the coconut and throw the can away.
Ned: Homer!
Homer: You throw the can away.
Ned: I said, Homer!
Homer: You throw the can away.

Many of the plants in our garden are chosen because they attract wildlife. We also put out seeds, nuts and berries in feeders for the birds.

Squirrel proof bird feeders

Our squirrel-proof bird feeders

Attracting birds to the garden is something I have always enjoyed. In England, when I was young, we put out table scraps for the birds. We would also hang up peanuts in their shells that we had threaded onto twine. Blue tits would hang on them, and peck through the shells to get at the nuts. I put out a string of peanuts here once, thinking the chickadees would enjoy them. Perhaps they would have, if a squirrel hadn’t immediately broken the string and eaten all the nuts.

Another thing we liked to do was to hang up half a coconut and watch birds eat the flesh from the inside of the shell. I thought perhaps that would be something the birds here would enjoy. So the other day I bought a coconut.

A coconut with two holes

A coconut with holes poked in it.

The first thing to do with a coconut is drain off the liquid. Locate the three dents at one end of the coconut. These are weak points where you can poke holes through the shell with a screwdriver or similar tool. Now you can pour out and drink the yummy liquid from inside the coconut.

The next thing to decide is how you want to cut open your coconut. Previously, I have just broken it in half by repeatedly hitting it around its equator with a metal object. But this time, I wanted to try something different. I secured it in the vise.

coconut in a vice

A coconut in a vise awaiting its fate.

Using a coping saw, I cut out a wedge from the coconut.

Cutting a wedge out of a coconut with a coping saw.

Cutting a wedge out of a coconut with a coping saw.

This leaves a hole with a ledge for birds to land on.

Coconut bird feeder ready to string up.

Coconut bird feeder ready to string up.

Those holes now come in handy again for attaching twine to hang up the coconut.

Coconut bird feeder open for business

Our coconut bird feeder open for business.

So there it is. Now to wait and see if we get any customers. And if we don’t, we can always throw some seeds in there and give it another try.

Have any ideas for homemade bird feeders? What brings the birds to your garden? Let us know your techniques in the comments.

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