Ray's Winter-Saving Balloon Bird Feeder & Bath
Ray's Winter-Saving Balloon Bird Feeder & Bath
🐝 Gives wild bees a safe nesting home
🌸 3× more pollination than honeybees
🪵 Solid, untreated cedar — built to last
☔ Copper roof keeps tunnels dry
🌿 Chemical-free, natural materials only
Couldn't load pickup availability
Ray's Winter-Saving Balloon Bird Feeder & Bath
Painted by hand in a garden shed in Bristol
Ray Penhallow, 74, flew hot-air balloons over Somerset for 31 years. For the last eleven winters he has built little balloon feeders for the garden birds, with seed above and water below. Arthritis now ends his fine work. These are his last 212.
“The first winter after my last flight, the birdbath froze for nine days and the sparrows just sat on the fence and stared at it. So I built them a small copy of my old balloon, filled with seed, with a bath where the basket hangs. I want every last one hanging in a garden before the frost.”
Ray Penhallow · Bishopston, Bristol
What comes in the box
Arched seed window with a little perch
Shallow water dish on gold chains
Ready to hang from a branch or hook
Safely packed, lovely to give
What makes Ray’s balloon special
A shallow water dish hangs right below the seed balloon, like a balloon basket. Birds drink and bathe right next to their food.
Gentle ripples in the bottom of the dish give small feet something to grip and keep the water shallow.
It hangs from a branch or hook, away from fences and walls where cats like to climb.
Fill the balloon with seed. Small garden birds like blue tits and sparrows take it from the arched opening, standing on the little perch below.
Violet, blue and green panels framed in gold. When the low winter sun shines through, they glow like stained glass.
Every gold line painted by Ray, one balloon at a time. Small differences between pieces are part of the charm.
“Seed is only half of it. The most useful thing you can give garden birds in a cold snap is clean, unfrozen water next to their food. A shallow dish close to cover, hung up where cats can’t ambush them, is exactly right. I wish more bird feeders were built like this.”
Helen Carver · Bird ringer and garden-bird surveyor · Somerset
Perfect for
Why Ray’s balloon lasts
- Weatherproof finish. Made to hang outside through sun, rain and frost.
- Shallow, safe water. The dish is never deep enough to be a danger for small birds.
- Easy to top up. Refill the seed and the bath in seconds.
- Easy to clean. Rinse the dish every few days and the water stays fresh.
- Checked one by one. Every balloon is inspected in Ray’s shed before it leaves.
If Ray’s balloon doesn’t win you over, one email to info@cedarandtinco.com is enough. Ray would rather have it back than have it sit in a cupboard.
Tip from Ray: Hang it at head height from a branch, about two metres from the nearest fence or wall, so cats can’t jump across. Top up the seed every few days, and in a hard frost give the bath fresh water each morning.
Product details
| Contents | 1 balloon seed feeder with hanging bird bath and chains |
| Finish | Hand-painted stained-glass-style panels with gold detail |
| Colours | Violet, cobalt blue, teal and red panels with gold detail; turquoise bath |
| For | Small garden birds — blue tits, sparrows, robins, finches, wrens |
| Use | Outdoors — hang from a branch, pergola or bracket |
| Care | Rinse the bath every few days; wipe the balloon with a damp cloth |
| Made by | Ray Penhallow, Bristol — final collection, 212 remaining |
