Building a simple bird table from reclaimed timber

Why reclaimed timber suits a bird table

A bird table is one of those small projects that rewards you twice over: once when you build it, and every morning afterwards when the tits and robins arrive. Reclaimed timber is ideal because you need very little of it, and the weathered, slightly silvered look sits far more comfortably among the shrubs than a shiny new piece of softwood. Offcuts from a shed shelf, old floorboards, pallet slats and lengths of fencing that have already done a decade of service will all work.

Two rules matter. First, use untreated timber only. Pressure-treated wood, tanalised stock and anything that has carried paint, creosote or engine oil have no place where birds are feeding, and old paint may contain lead. Second, avoid timber that is soft, crumbly or riddled with woodworm. If you can push a screwdriver into it with modest effort, it belongs on the compost heap, not holding up a feeding station.

Aim for a table roughly 45cm square, standing with its feeding surface about 1.6 metres above the ground. That height keeps birds clear of the worst of the damp and gives them a fighting chance against ground predators.

Tools and materials

• Four or five boards, 18–20mm thick, cut to give a 45cm square top
• One length of 75mm x 75mm post, about 1.7 metres long
• Two roof boards, each roughly 55cm x 20cm, plus a ridge batten
• Two cross-battens, 45cm x 40mm, to brace the underside of the table
• Brass or stainless steel screws, 40mm and 60mm
• Cordless drill, countersink bit, panel saw, sandpaper, wood file
• A water-based, bird-safe wood oil for the post only

Screws rather than nails, always. A nailed bird table loosens and wobbles within a season, and wobble frightens small birds away. Countersink every head so nothing protrudes into the feeding area.

Building the table top and post

Lay the boards face down and space them with a 3mm gap between each one so rainwater drains away instead of pooling. Screw the two cross-battens across the back, one near each edge, using 40mm screws. This sandwich gives the top its rigidity and lets the boards move slightly with the weather without splitting.

Fix the post to the centre of the underside with four 60mm screws driven through the battens into the post end grain, then add a small triangular brace on two opposite sides if you have offcuts to spare. If you have no spare timber, four longer screws set at a slight angle will do the job just as well. Drill three or four 8mm drainage holes through the completed top, and round off every edge and corner with sandpaper — birds land hard and sharp arrises cause injuries.

Now fix three 40mm battens around the perimeter of the table to create a low lip, about 25mm high. This stops seed blowing off in a gust and gives timid birds a sense of cover, but keep a 60mm gap at one corner so rain and debris can escape.

Adding a sloping roof

A roof is what turns a fair-weather feeding tray into something used all year. It keeps the seed dry, which matters more than most people realise — mouldy food is one of the main causes of sick garden birds.

Cut the two roof boards so they overhang the table by at least 50mm on every side. Butt them together at the top, screw a ridge batten across the join, and set the whole assembly on four corner legs made from 25mm square offcuts, about 200mm tall. Screw the legs to the table lip and the roof to the legs.

Leave a clear space of around 200mm between the feeding surface and the roof. Any lower and blackbirds and thrushes will not fit; much higher and the shelter stops working. Brush a coat of bird-safe oil on the roof boards and the post, but leave the table top bare — oiled surfaces go tacky and hold dirt.

Siting it so cats cannot reach

This is the single most important decision, and it is easier than it sounds. Cats are ambush hunters: they need something to spring from or hide behind, and they dislike an open approach.

• Keep the post at least 1.8 metres from fences, walls, bins, sheds, low branches and dense shrubs — the minimum a cat can clear from a standing jump.
• Site the table in the open, but within four or five metres of a hedge or thick shrub so visiting birds have somewhere to dive for cover.
• Position it where you can see it from a kitchen or sitting room window, so you notice problems early.
• Avoid placing it directly over a patio, path or washing line; droppings and seed husks will make you regret it.
• If cats are persistent, fit a smooth metal or plastic collar around the post, 60cm wide, starting a metre off the ground. A cat simply cannot grip it.

A prickly ring of holly or gorse cuttings laid around the base of the post helps too, and it costs nothing.

Keeping it sound through the seasons

Give the table a scrub every few weeks with hot water and a little mild detergent, using a stiff brush on the feeding surface, and let it dry fully in the sun before refilling. Move the whole structure to a fresh spot in the garden every couple of months — this prevents a build-up of droppings and disease in one patch of soil.

Check the screws each autumn and tighten anything that has worked loose. Reclaimed timber will grey and weather, and that is entirely as it should be. Looked after this way, a table built from a pallet and an old fence post will comfortably outlast one bought flat-packed, and it will have far more character into the bargain.