Advertisement

Eateries for the modern backyard bird

Share

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

As the leaves have begun to return to the limbs of my ash tree, so have the birds. The chirping has become so enticing lately, in fact, that I have become something of a backyard birder (otherwise known as ‘a yard work procrastinator’).

So in an effort to put off weeding ... I mean, to attract more birds, I have been searching for an appropriate bird feeder. While there are certainly a lot of great-looking modern bird feeders available, I felt those might seem to be slumming it in my neglected, toy-strewn back 40. Yet the ones I found at my neighborhood hardware store seemed too corny.

Advertisement

Enter St. Louis artist Joe Papendick, whose sculpted steel bird feeders, shown above, feel just right. They are a little rough, just like my yard, and yet visually striking and colorful enough to be appreciated from a far kitchen window.

His new “Home” series, (in cinnamon, on the right) measures 6 inches square and 18 inches tall and is inspired by the shape of old wooden birdhouses (presumably the ones I didn’t like). The Sunscreen Sunflower feeder (in yellow, at left) is designed specifically to hold Black Oil Sunflower Seeds. It also appears to be squirrel-resistant. The pieces hang from a 20-inch galvanized steel wire, all the better to keep squirrels and other rodents at bay.

The feeders range from $65 to $85 and are available on Papendick’s Etsy page and 1000 Markets. For more information and custom orders, click here. -- Lisa Boone

Become a fan: We’ve set up a page dedicated to gardening at facebook.com/latimesgarden.

Advertisement