DIY Bird Feeders
Kid-friendly craft projects using recycled items
Banish boredom with these fun ideas for bird feeders made out of recycled and household items. Bird feeders are a great craft project to make with kids of all ages any time of year—and they provide entertainment for everyone in the family as you watch the birds flock to your yard. Some of the steps require a hot stove or sharp knife and are better for an adult, but little fingers will have plenty to do as well!
Plastic water bottle feeder
What you need:
craft knife
small eye screw
clean 1-liter plastic bottle
2 wooden spoons
length of twine for hanging
bird seed
optional: ribbon/fabric strips, colorful masking or duct tape, stickers, or paint for decorating
First, the adult works some magic:
Using a craft knife, cut an approximately 3/4” diameter hole in the side of the bottle, somewhere near either the top or the bottom (just not right in the middle). Directly across from it, cut a hole just the size of the spoon handle. Repeat these cuts above or below.
Remove the cap, puncture it with a small hole, and then screw the eye screw into it. Your feeder will hang from this hook. Alternately, you can simply tie the twine directly around the neck of the bottle for hanging – the bottle is less likely to hang straight up and down this way, so more feed may spill.
Then, kids take over!
Optional: decorate the bottle with whatever materials you’d like, as long as they adhere to the plastic and you do not puncture the sides or cover the holes.
Insert the wooden spoons so that the ladle part is facing up and is snug against the edge of the larger holes. The handles will stick out of the smaller holes on the other side. Some of the feed will spill out by the spoon holes—this is okay as long as the holes aren’t too big (you want it to come out or the birds won’t be able to get it!)
Bring the feeder outside and fill it with bird seed through the mouth of the bottle (a funnel will help with this). Twist on the lid, attach some twine to the hook, and hang in a good viewing spot.
Fir/Pinecone feeder
What you need:
bird seed
lard (vegetarian alternative: all-natural peanut butter can work, too – it just risks running more than the lard, depending on how stiff it is and the outdoor conditions)
fir or pine cones (however many you would like to make)
wax paper
string or ribbon
Adult steps:
Heat up some lard (it doesn’t have to be a specific amount–just as much as you think will cover the number of evergreen cones you have), just enough so that it is soft enough to easily mix birdseed into.
Kid steps:
Evenly mix in birdseed until it is coated in the lard or peanut butter.
Coat the fir cones in the mixture: make sure you can fill in some of the gaps in the cones so that there is more mixed for the birds to eat.
Rest the cones on some wax paper to dry for a while until the mixture seems stuck to the cones.
Put the cones into an egg box to keep them the right way up, and place them in to the fridge overnight to let them set properly.
Tie string around the tops with a double knot, and then tie them up in the branches of a tree or bush.
Cookie-cutter bird feeder seed cakes
What you need:
3/4 cup birdseed
1/4 cup water
1 small envelope of gelatin (vegetarian alternative: agar agar powder)
twine or string
cookie cutters, molds or mason jar lids
wax paper
Adult steps:
Mix together the envelope of gelatin with 1/4 cup of water in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer while stirring. Continue stirring until the gelatin is dissolved.
Remove from heat and let cool for a minute.
Kid steps:
Stir the 3/4 cup birdseed into the gelatin mixture, adding a little more if there is liquid still in the bottom of the pan.
Lay your cookie cutters out on wax paper and fill halfway with the birdseed mixture.
Cut your twine, knot the end and push the knot down into your birdseed.
Continue filling with birdseed, covering the end of your twine and the knot.
Push the birdseed evenly into the cookie cutter until it’s full.
Allow them to dry overnight, turning them over gently every now and then so that they are evenly exposed to the air.
Remove from the cookie cutters and hang them in your trees, then wait by the window to watch for your first guest!
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Green & Healthy Maine is published by TheSunriseGuide, LLC. This article originally ran in the 2018 SunriseGuide.