RSPB Open Bird Table

I bought this to go with the my feeding station and it's been well received since it went out and that was just a few days ago. It's a solid enough bird table and so far it seems to be holding up to the windy weather. The platform is much smaller than I was expecting and for that reason, I'm not sure it's worth the price as overall it is quite small. It was easy enough to build although the holes didn't really match very well but that didn't cause too much of a problem. If you don't screw the inside platform down you can remove this for easier cleaning. I chose to screw it down so a small brush will be needed to remove old seeds etc but again, not a huge problem. It's a nice solid table if a bit on the small side. The birds certainly seem to like it. 4 jackdaws, 3 wood pigeons, a magpie and a raven seem to be my regular visitors. Lol.

I bought this for Mum, it arrived earlier than expected so no quibble there, but it has 6 screws missing too. We went to assemble it today and found that we couldn't.. Luckily, we have loads of galvanised screws in the shed but that's not the point. It seems to us that it is missing one part of the packing line if another person has had the same issue too. The quality is good, its sturdy and looks like it will go together easily, we just need the right amount of screws to do the job.Come on RSPB Sales Ltd, you can do better than this.

This review is a little premature as I have only just put my bird table out today (I will post photos). I just wanted to let people know that I have just bought this (July 2014), and that it came with ALL the screws. So many people were saying that their pack didn't contain enough screws. I had cause to phone the RSPB today and I mentioned that this had been a problem for several people. The very informative and helpful lady told me to pass on the information that if you recieve a pack without enough screws in it, phone the RSPB and tell them, and they will help you (even if it has been bought via Amazon).I am extremely pleased with the bird table. It looks smart, seems practical with the lift off and easy to clean tray, and appears very stable. I don't know how it will fare in the hot sun, as I would think the plastic tray would cause condensation underneath it, but time will tell I guess.When I phoned the RSPB I wanted to know if it had any kind of wood preserving treatment on it. It took a while to find out, but I found out that it does...and that it should have a life of 10-15 years! So...no painting required! 😊My ex made my old bird table out if a thick piece of wood and a discarded limb of a birch tree. It has served it's purpose very well, but has been badly leaning to port side now for about 2 years (see photo for proof). It is so rotton now at the base, that I think if you sneezed on it, it would fall over! .... hence, buying this lovely new one! 😊 The old one was placed in the ground, so this one is a better design really, as I will be able to move it around. Moving feeding stations periodically is a good thing as it helps stop birds getting diseases from the ground underneath the bird table, where the bits and pieces fall and can go rotten.🐤🐤🐤VERY IMPORTANT: DON'T POISON YOUR BIRDIES!🐦🐦🐦Whilst discussing wood preservative with the RSPB representative, she told me that if I were to paint the bird table with paint or wood presevative, to make sure it is a water based product. This applies to anything that is meant for birds eg. bird boxes (and presumably wildlife stuff in general). Apparently, if you don't, the chemicals can harm the birds, especially in confined places such as bird boxes. When the weather is warm, the inside of the bird box heats up, and toxic fumes will begin to come out of the wood preservative! Wow! I had no idea! This includes pressure-treated wood.

I tried making my own table, but failed miserably so was on the lookout for a good quality low cost table. I originally looked at the cheaper alternatives, but the reviews either said they were smaller than anticipated or they were not sturdy enough and blew over in the wind. This one had good reviews, was a good price and so went for it.Upon opening, the first thing I did was check to see if all the screws were there, as others have pointed out missing screws. Luckily, all mine were there and sorted them out into the different sizes.Assembly was easy, but a good tip is to use a power screwdriver as it makes life a lot easier and you will not get blisters. The legs go on first, they have 2 pre-drilled holes so that the screws go in and 2 pilot holes in each side of the stump for them to screw to. Once assembled, it is stood up straight and the tabletop fixed with two screws. Then, the top struts are screwed in pace and finally the plastic top is screwed to the table. All done.It is a very nice looking open table, with very sturdy feet and also has a good weight. This will not blow over in the wind. If you are concerned about any water staying in the top tray, you could drill some small holes for drainage, but remember the seed will fall through it.To finish it off, I also purchased some hooks, a fat ball feeder, seed feeder, fat balls and seed. I screwed the hooks at opposite ends to hang the feeders from. I also put seed on the table.I was not expecting anything for a few days as the birds got used to it, but the next morning had 2 magpies (one hanging from the fat ball feeder) and a crow. I hope the smaller birds come too, as this was the whole idea.

I take very great exception to find that an item on sale in UK, sold to a person in UK, did not include VAT and find that my bill is £10 larger as a consequence. WHAT A CON!!!Since wrtiting that I have discovered a bad design flaw. The plastic floor at the apex of the table allows rain water to go underneath and already, the wood is becoming marked and stained, and presumably, wont be long before it begins to rot.Edit: Over a year on and I had to treat the table top with anti rot and its better to leave to plastic flooring unscrewed into the table to facilitate easier cleaning and removal of rotting seeds underneath. It was very mouldy when I first removed the plastic to wash it.