31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Birdfeeders Shelters & Baths, November 25, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Birdfeeders, Shelters and Baths (The Weekend Workshop Collection) (Paperback)
An excellent book that illustrates how to make some very nice birdhouses that vary from the easy to the complex like the one on the cover. I'm building the one on the cover and am having a lot of fun! The best birdfeeder book I've seen so far.
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26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
birds love these, March 13, 2000
This review is from: Birdfeeders, Shelters and Baths (The Weekend Workshop Collection) (Paperback)
I bought this for my husband 2 years ago and he has made all the large feeders. He really enjoyed building them and I enjoy showing them off. I'm currently looking for another book with different designs but so far this is the best one.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nice Birdfeeder-Making Book w/ Helpful Info on Birds, too!, February 26, 2008
This review is from: Birdfeeders, Shelters and Baths (The Weekend Workshop Collection) (Paperback)
In three short pages of Introduction, the author (Edward Baldwin) highlights some Essential Info for all of us home-based bird lovers: what the birds really need and how to provide it as well & efficiently as possible--and not only with home-made feeders & shelters. In those few pages there is a rich summary of insights on birds' daily needs; how we can help them in their lives; as well as how to lure them into our vicinity--and our viewing range--with various sources of food and shelter.
Then: on the book goes to show us various forms of feeding & sheltering stations that are quite make-able by a careful adult with some kind of "craft-making" skill. I, for example, had only sewing and fabric-construction types of skills to bring to the Roosting Box I made (see pg. 87). But, the skills were transferable to the wooden pieces that had to be cut and assembled (parallel functions to what one does w/cloth for a slip-cover, for example).
A number of projects and their plans are set up to use the simplest of household objects (plastic and glass jars or bottles once empty of foodstuffs, and even an 8 oz. milk carton). So, carpentry is not necessary in all of the projects. Some of the feeders look "do-able" by small children's hands with scissors and glue -- all with the encouragement & supervision an adult might lend.
The photos and illustrations of feeders/shelters and their parts as they get assembled are nice and clear. If you don't often take to carpentry and other forms of hand-crafting of items, it might be good to read through the instructions and examine drawings & photos a couple of times before the day you plan to start the actual "making" steps. You might also make a list of items you will want to purchase or borrow while pre-reading & getting prepared. That way, anything confusing can be cleared up ahead of time and you can be truly "ready" to start-in on schedule.
The book was thoughtfully organized for me as a bird-loving "enthusiast" with only basic manual skills and basic tools at home. It helped me produce something well-built for our backyard birds. There were tasks new to me, but the small size of the end-product and the fact that I could do all the steps on one work-table kept it manageable.
I'm planning to make a Squirrel-Feeder in a couple of months (to launch next autumn)--as a variation of one of the bottle-feeders in the book. I'd like to divert the squirrels' attention to Their Own feeder and away from the part of the yard where we keep birdfeeders (one of the ideas I picked up in the Intro). AND: I'm pleased w/the book; glad to have it at home and available "as needed."
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