With spring on the way, it's time to start crafting fun bird feeders to attract helpful birds to your yard. Some birds help to pollinate flowering and fruit-bearing plants, and some birds eat annoying pests. Birds are so important to a backyard ecosystem! Fortunately, building a bird feeder doesn't take much money, nor much skill. Of course, you could go big by buying a fancy bird house from a custom carpenter. However, if you simply want to attract birds to your backyard, a DIY bird feeder made from recycled materials will work just fine.

Plate and Spindle Bird Feeder: Danielle from 2 Little Superheroes, a DIY builder in Raleigh, made a dynamite little plate and spindle bird feeder out of wooden spindles and vintage plates. All you need is a hand saw, a spindle, a vintage plate, and some wood glue, to make your own lovely and effective bird feeder. In just a few minutes, you can treat your neighborhood birds to a birdie buffet.

Chicken Waterer Bird Feeder: How cool! Sheri S. posted her funky, fashionable bird feeder on Hometalk. Sherri purchased an old-fashioned chicken waterer at an estate sale, painted it a hip shade of chartreuse, and hung it up as a bird feeder. It's a clever, easy DIY project that you could do in an hour or two, plus drying time. If you've got an outdoor room, a bird feeder like this one in a coordinating color could add one more element to tie the room together.

Soda Bottle Bird Feeder: Linda from Crafts a la Mode posted her lovely, and super-inexpensive, DIY bird feeder on Hometalk. Simple drill holes through a soda bottle, then stick a dowel rod through the holes. Drill a small hole above the dowel for the birds to pick seeds from. Hang it from a branch with string. Easy peasy lemon squeezy, and it won't collect water. A problem with many bird feeders is that they can become breeding grounds for mosquitoes. This one does not offer a place for mosquitoes to breed.

Dust Pan Bird Feeder: Who knew that a vintage dust pan could become a bird feeder? Brian from the inventive blog GadgetSponge.com knew! With a bit of rudimentary metal work, he turned a copper dust pan into a dish-du-jour for local birds. It goes to show that with enough creativity, almost anything can be upcycled.

Have you made a super cool bird feeder? Tell us about it!

Chaya Kurtz writes for Networx.com.