Design at Open

I had an idea to transform a free-standing candelabra and some small plant pots into a bird feeder that could accommodate multiple birds at one time. It was also important to me that the feeder would blend into the natural setting of my garden in a non-threatening way. After scouring a few charity shops, I chanced upon a ceiling light with multiple poseable arms and was given some tapas dishes by a friend that no longer needed them. These dishes turned out to be a better choice, as the shallower and wider form meant that birds would be able to eat from them more easily. I primed and painted the light in a durable brown car paint and fixed the dishes onto the five main arms. The secondary, more decorative arms were useful as I could glue glass marbles on them, hopefully mimicking natural floral colours and attracting more birds. Using the bracket that would normally fix the light onto a ceiling, I could up-end the light and fixed it securely to a shelf mounted high up on my garden wall, away from predators (my cats, mainly). Happily, I have spotted a number of birds enjoying it!