Woodpecker Feeder

Woodpeckers are a fun creature to watch.  I live in the suburbs of a major city, so I’m just lucky enough to get a wide variety of birds in my backyard.  One of my favorites to watch are the woodpeckers.  We usually see a couple different species each summer and I’ve always wanted to get a feeder just for these guys.  I’ve seen woodpecker feeders in some of the big box stores, and craft shops.  I based this woodpecker feeder loosely on some I’ve seen.  The great thing about this project (for me anyhow) is that you can make it with just some left over scrap wood.  I made this one out of a piece of 4 x 4 redwood that I had laying around.  The suet cake plugs that go with this can be easily found in stores that sell wild bird seed.  I’ll also include a link at the bottom of my post where you can find some.  If you make one of these be sure to post it over on the WoodLogger Facebook Page.  I’d love to see how yours turns out.

Cut List

(1)   3″ x 3″ x 9″ board.  You can vary the lenght of these boards depending on how many feeder holes you want.

Milling & Assembly

	The first thing I did was layout my roof line.  I did this by finding the center point at the top of my block, and then measuring down 2″ inches on each side.  The will keep water from pooling anywhere on the wood.  Next up I marked where my holes would be drilled.  Then finally I marked where the perches would be just below the holes.
	I used a band saw to cut the roof out.  You could use a jigsaw too, but I think a band saw allows for more control.
	Next up I drilled out the holes using a 1-1/2″ forstner bit.  From what I can tell this appears to be the most common size for suet cake pods that are available.
	The next step in the woodpecker feeder was to make a perch that the birds could grab a hold of.  There are a lot of options you do here.  You could simply attach a couple small strips to the outside of the block for the birds to grab on to.  I decided to go with a recessed look and I used a core box router bit to make mine.
	The last step was to attach a hanger to the top of the feeder.  I pre-drilled a small hole to help make this easier.

Finishing

I finished this by breaking all the sides with sandpaper and then used a couple coats of a sealer to help protect it from the elements.  Overall I think it turned out great.

Suet Feeder Plugs