Easy bird feeders your kids can make and gift to their feathered friends this holiday season.
One of the easiest ways to get your youngsters into nature is to observe birds. And one of the best ways to do that is to place feeding sources in your own backyard! Here are four easy homemade feeder ideas that are inexpensive and fun to make, just in time to give a Christmas gift to the great outdoors.
Toilet Paper Tube Feeders
What you will need: Toilet paper tubes, peanut butter, bird seed, a tray or dish
Instructions: Pour bird seed onto tray or into dish. Coat toilet paper tube with peanut butter and roll in bird seed until well-covered. Slide onto a tree branch.
Orange Feeder
What you will need: Orange, sharp knife, spoon, bird seed, branches, string
Instructions: Cut the top off of an orange and hollow out with a spoon. Poke two thin branches through the orange to serve as perches for the birds. Fill with birdseed and hang with string.
Photo source: Parents Magazine
Cheerio Garland (Source: 366 Days of Pinterest http://366daysofpinterest.com/2012/03/31/day-60-cheerio-bird-feeder/)
What you will need: Pipe cleaners, Cheerios, ribbon or string
Instructions: Thread the Cheerios onto the pipe cleaners, leaving about a 1/2 inch open on each end. Twist ends together and bend into desired shape. Hang with ribbon or string.
Bagel “Wreath”
What you will need: Bagels, peanut butter, knife, birdseed, tray or dish, string
Instructions: Pour bird seed onto a tray or into a dish. Coat one side of a bagel with peanut butter and dip into the bird seed until well-covered. Repeat on the opposite side. Loop some string through the hole, tie and hang.
Photo source: National Wildlife Federation