Every time I see bird seed in the store, my creative juices start flowing. Maybe that's weird, but it's true. There are just so many cool bird feeders you can make with the kids, and, it's the craft that keeps on giving, since the kids get to watch birds come and enjoy the tasty treat.
1) Everyone knows that a pine cone makes an awesome bird feeder, right? Let your kids spread peanut butter, lard or left-over cooking fat on the pine cone. Roll the pine cone in bird seed until it's covered, and then tie a string securely to the top to hang it to a tree or porch.
2) Don't have pine cones? We used popcorn cakes, bacon fat, peanut butter, bird food, food coloring & string. You can read more about these easy bird feeders here.
Toilet Paper Roll Bird Feeders are also very easy to make and great for preschool age kids.
3) Smile Monsters made this adorable heart bird feeder (shown above), which would also be a precious craft for Valentine's day. You can find her complete tutorial here.
4) String donut-shaped cereal on yarn to form a simple bird feeder. This is great for enhancing children's fine motor skills and it couldn't get any easier. Just let your kids put all of the cereal on the string. Once it's filled up, simply tie the two ends of yarn together and voila - you have a necklace shaped bird feeder which can be easily hung from any branch.
5) Reycle a used milk carton and let your kids make their own special bird feeder. You will need to clean the carton well . Then, once it's dry, your kids can decorate the outside of it any way they want. Cut out a square opening about 2/3 up from the bottom of the carton. Make a hole in the top so that you can secure some yarn to hang it. Then, fill with bird seed and let the birds enjoy!
We want to keep our kids and the birds happy. So, here's a tip from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: In order to prevent birds from smacking into your windows, move your feeders "to within 3 feet of the window or greater than 30 feet away. When feeders are close to a window, a bird leaving the feeder cannot gain enough momentum to do harm if it strikes the window. If feeders are more than 30 feet from a window, the birds are less likely to perceive windows as a pathway to other parts of your yard."
See.. you learn something new everyday!
Do you have any other bird feeder craft ideas or tips? Leave me a comment.