Well, we are well into winter (sigh) and I am longing for Spring. Thankfully, it has been a pretty mild winter so far. I will take any chance I can to get some fresh air, which is why I thought it would be a great time to go over how to make bird feeders.
One of my favorite YouTube channels is Garden Answer. Check her out if you enjoy gardening or appreciate landscaping. In fact, I recently published another post inspired by Laura of Garden Answer talking about how to “Romance the Ordinary.” I realize that I appear obsessed (and I am), but it is a healthy obsession…if that is even a thing.
Anyway, she posted a video a few weeks ago about how she makes different types of bird feeders. They each looked cute and easy enough for my kids to help with. Needless to say, we got started making our bird feeders right away.
Why Make Bird Feeders?
During the late winter months there isn’t much left for the birds to forage for. In fact, according to the Humane Society, “Bird feeding is most helpful at times of when birds need the most energy, such as during temperature extremes, migration, and in late winter or early spring, when natural seed sources are depleted.”
Also, it’s fun! It’s a great way to teach kids about wildlife, about taking care of other living things, and it’s just a fun activity for a weekend.
What Do Birds Eat?
Birds LOVE:
- Black Oil Sunflower Seeds
- White Proso Millet
- Peanuts
- Peanut Butter
- Fruit
- Suet Cakes
- Nyjer Seed
- Cracked corn
Do NOT feed birds:
- Chocolate
- Table Scraps
How To Make Bird Feeders
Pinecone Bird Feeder
Materials Needed
Instructions
- Bird Seed
- Pine cones
- Peanut Butter (or Coconut Oil)
- Knife/spoon for spreading peanut butter
- Shallow dish
- String
- Tie a string to the pine cones.
- Pour roughly an inch of bird seed into a shallow dish.
- Smear peanut butter (or coconut oil) onto the pine cones. The more peanut butter on the pine cones, the more the bird seed will stick.
- Roll the peanut butter pine cones around in the bird seed
- Hang in a tree.
Cheerio Garland
Materials Needed
Instructions
- Cheerio Cereal
- String
- Tape
- Start by cutting the string to your desired length.
- Place a small piece of tape on the end of the string to keep it from fraying.
- On the other end of the string tie a single cheerio to prevent from being pushed off the string during assembly.
- Begin stringing the cereal onto the string until entire string is covered.
- Hang on tree.
Homemade Round Hanging Bird Feeder
Materials Needed
Instructions
- Cooking Spray
- 1C Warm Water
- Gelatin (2 packets)
- 1 1/2C Flour
- 6T Light Corn Syrup or honey
- 8C Bird Seed
- Bundt pan
- Ribbon
- Spray pan or mold with cooking spray
- Stir gelatin into warm water until dissolved.
- Add light corn syrup & flour. Stir to combine.
- Add bird seed. Stir to combine.
- Press into pan or mold firmly.
- Set aside and let dry for 24 hours.
- Once dry. Hang with ribbon.
**This bird feeder can be made into just about any shape you want. They also make great gifts! Can easily be made for a Mother’s Day gift, a birthday gift, or even a gift for your child’s teacher. In fact, I bought a heart silicon mold and made baby shower “thank you for coming” gifts. They turned out absolutely adorable!
I hope you enjoyed learning about 3 super easy ways to make a bird feeder at home. Please give one a try and let me know how it goes in the comments below!
Click here for more fun winter activities! Also, check out my favorite family fun nights!
Until next time,
Julie
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All of these are such great ideas! The bunt pan version is stunning.
Thank you!! They are all so easy and so much fun!
These are fun ideas! I love love love birds and the beauty that they bring to our world. However, I have found that I get very frustrated by the mess they leave on my chairs and kid’s swings. Makes for extra work. Any thoughts about that?
This is an activity I want to do ASAP!
Do it!! Thanks for stopping by!
These look super simple. Will try these with my little girls!
Let me know how it turns out!
The cheerio garland would be perfect for younger kids especially. Love all of these great ideas, especially with Spring quickly approaching!
-Jennifer
I think the Cheerio garland is the favorite for the birds in our yard!
I love this idea! We made a good old fashion bird feeder a few years back (just wood screwed together) – I definitely want to give the pine cone feeder a try! Our kids would love the crafting and then seeing the birds enjoy it.
Thanks! My kids love crafting too, which makes these great activities for us!
Love the idea of using a silicon mold! I can totally find them easily at the dollar store!
Yes, they come in all different shapes and sizes!
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