I have a rescue cat named Kit that lives with me in Brooklyn. I started fostering him a few years ago, and he ended up becoming part of the family. Although he sees me more than most, I want him to have a stimulating environment, so i purchased an 11 pound bird feeder to buy him a lot of friends.
At first, I hung it off the fire escape, but a neighbor kindly asked for the constant rain of sunflower seeds and bird poo to stop, as it was covering his furniture, and attracting a great deal of rats eating the fallen seeds. To reduce the amount of seeds lost to wind, I added 12 pounds of weight to the base of the feeder, to counter the swaying movement. This setup works well when the bird feeder is full, but nearing empty, the remaining seeds scatter. I tried adding a capture basin to collect falling seeds, but it was a comical mistake, and was soon removed.
Moving the setup over an abandoned part of the alley, i was able to increase the counterweight to 22 pounds, and remove the concern of failing seeds (and poo). Now a 33 pound setup when full, the chain I located was more than capable, but hanging from the edge of the building, greatly risked hitting my window and shattering it. There is a minimal lip on the roof, and the slightest breeze meant the feeder hitting the glass. I set off to make a structure to offset the feeder, while keeping the amount of chain minimal, to reduce the amount of horizontal travel. I found some 2×4’s in the alley, and made a shape that ensures a consistent orientation. It’s something like a dangling hydrofoil. Easy enough to pull up and refill weekly to keep the birds coming back.
The birds absolutely love it, and a few years later, with almost 50 40 pound bags of seed gone, Kit has an improved quality of life. Through windstorms, snowstorms, and long periods of travel (fingers crossed), the design stood its ground. No windows shattered. I feel the birds appreciate the year round nearby foliage inside, although i have yet to see one fly indoors and move in.
Depending on the type of seed, a variety of different birds show. Of course, many pigeons show up, which makes sense in NYC. But it makes a lot more sense when you see the rooftop coups of the area, with thousands of pigeons in each. One of which, Tree, the “Birdman of Brooklyn”.
This is an investment with 40 pounds of sunflower seed costing $22, aimed to bring cardinals, chickadees, & finches. A budget buy with 40 pounds of mixed seeds goes for $18, but the smaller grain blows out with the wind, and increases overall cost. I’m sure the rats appreciate those seeds. Overall, this is about 10 pounds of seed a week, where a bag lasts a month, costing $240 a year to fill. This is also an investment in my health, dragging 40 pounds up the stairs weekly, and raising the feeder to fill.
At some point, I think it would be worthwhile to paint and blend into the wall. All of this was sourced as scrap, which was part of the challenge. At $1,000 spent on seed, I surely could spend a bit on paint. Track marks show a decent amount of movement where the ‘hydrofoil’ scrape along the surface, and dig to keep steady. I think it would be cool to have the feeder as a component of interactive graff, where it moves side to side with the wind. Need to get creative for the next mural to drop. Hear my call optimo, psylent, aids, & exr!
