Homemade Log Suet Bird Feeder

Last updated on April 28th, 2021 at 04:24 pm

Homemade Log Suet Bird Feeder

Woodpeckers, nuthatches and other suet-loving birds are accustomed to hunting for food in the bark, knots, holes and broken branches of trees. Attract them to your backyard with a homemade suet feeder easily made from a smallish log.

by Jane Lake

If you have access to a drill with a 1-1/4 inch drill bit, plus a log of wood roughly 18 inches long and about 10 inches around, you can make a simple log suet feeder that looks very natural if you hang it from a tree branch.

Birch log suet feeders look very attractive if the logs are old enough to have the characteristic white birch bark, but maple or oak logs with the bark intact offer the birds a rougher surface on which to cling. Firewood piles are often a great source of small logs that could also be used for this nature project.

All you need to do is drill holes right through the log to make suet food ports down the length of the log.

First, clamp the log in a vise or woodworking bench to keep it immobile while you drill. Fit the drill bit securely onto the drill and begin the first hole a couple of inches from the top.

Once the first hole is drilled completely through, rotate the log in the vise about 90 degrees and begin drilling the second hole a few inches below the first one. This hole will tunnel underneath the one above it, pointing in a different direction.

Repeat the process, so the third hole points the same way as the first one, and the fourth hole points the same way as the second hole.

Here you can see similar log feeders attracting not only downy woodpeckers, hairy woodpeckers and red-breasted woodpeckers but also nuthatches, bluejays and cardinals and as well.

If desired, you can incorporate handy perches by leaving on the stubs of any twigs remaining on the log. Or try drilling much smaller holes directly below each food port then inserting strong twigs or dowels. Drill the perch holes about 1-1/2 inches deep, then insert a four or five inch twig dipping the end of the perch in wood glue prior to insertion. Tap the other end of each perch lightly with a hammer to secure.

Finally, add an eye hook to the top of the log, pack the food ports with suet and hang it up.