With winter approaching, birds will need some help and if you’re not already feeding your garden visitors, it’s a great time to start, offering extra food as natural sources become more scarce.

TV Carpenter Wayne Perrey, joined the Love Your Weekend team to show show to build your own bird table and bird feeder from scratch.

He used gravel boards for both jobs as it is a durable exterior timber that is pre-treated with preservative chemicals so it lasts outside.

The bird feeder was quite a simple construction using just 3 pieces of wood cut at easy angles and with 3 old metal food tins. Wayne gave the tins a thorough clean then painted them with Thorndown Wood Paint in Grey Heron, Bishop Blue and Avalon Blue. He trimmed the top with a copper tape that is commonly used in the garden as a barrier to slugs, but also looks quite decorative!

You can also paint the wood sections with wood paint for extra external protection and to make them look pretty, or if you like the natural timber look you can paint on UV Clear which will protect the timber and stop the greying process for a couple of years.

If you’re feeling up to the challenge then how about making a bird table? Wayne made it look quite achievable and the end result would look gorgeous in the garden.

Follow this link to see what else Wayne has made on Love Your Weekend, You can also subscribe to his worksheets for step-by-step instructions for all of his builds.