Halloween Project: Jack-o-lantern Bird Feeder

At my new home in Michigan, I have the perfect set up for observing the birds when they come to the bird feeders on the balcony. Most of the birds that come are sparrows (at least 12 that live in a bush nearby), a blue jay, a few chickadees, and a titmouse. One day, a hummingbird stopped by!

Sparrows feeding on the balcony
Fall 2013

With Halloween approaching, I decided to carve a pumpkin into a jack-o-lantern with a special goal in mind: I wanted it to have a distraught face and to rig it so it would look like birds were attacking it.

I carved the face, just like you would, and added a couple of nails in the sides for the birds to land on. Then, I carved a shallow shelf above each nail and put a spoonful of birdseed in each.

Jack-o-lantern bird feeder from start to finish
October 2013

A couple weeks went by, the weather grew cooler, and the birds continued to feed on the balcony. After several stakeouts with my camera, the birds weren't finding the seeds in the pumpkin.

Stakeout Central

I had almost given up, until today. I was eating at the dining room table, facing the balcony, when I noticed there was a bird eating from the pumpkin! After sitting at the window with my camera for about 15 minutes, I finally captured this:

Success!