Bird Feeder Plans Not Necessary For This Easy To Make Feeder

Thursday, December 15th, 2011 at

Grandma Doesn’t Need Bird Feeder Plans For This Easy Fun

bird feeder, homemade, pine cone, peanut butter, bird seed

Pine Cone Feeders Need No Bird Feeder Plans

There is nothing I love more than my birds, unless it’s my family… especially my grand children. We love to do things together and going outside is one of them, even in the chilly winter. The other day my oldest granddaughter and I were looking outside and we saw a lone cardinal on a leafless and twiggy looking little tree.

She called to me, “Grandma, look it’s a cardinal. See him there in the tree. Grandma, what’s he going to eat? There are no leaves or bugs or anything for him.”

Well, said I, “let’s make a bird feeder for him out of the left over pine cones“ we used making our Christmas wreath.

What an afternoon of fun we had making, hanging, then watching our latest back yard bird feeder become the hot spot of the neighborhood. We are not the only ones either, as you’ll see.

Easiest Bird Feeder Plans Around – A Christmas Treat For The Birds

This article maps our every step to a perfect homemade feeder:

Our winter birds will enjoy an extra treat as winter weather sets in. Get the kids involved to make a wonderful Christmas gift for your backyard birds by creating pine cone bird feeders.

You’ll need:

Large, open pine cones

Peanut butter

Birdseed, chopped dried fruit or chopped nuts

Fishing line, twine, ribbon or string

Plate or dish

Butter knife

Cut a long piece of twine and tuck it under the top sets of scales on the pine cone, then tie securely. Spread the peanut butter on the inside and outside of the cone. Sprinkle seed mixture on top of cone, then roll it in a dish of seed to get maximum coverage. Hang the cone from a branch near where birds are likely to shelter such as evergreens or dense shrubs.

Tip: If you have collected cones from the neighborhood, consider drying them on a foil-lined cookie sheet in a 200 degree oven for about 45 minutes with the door cracked. This will kill any critters and allow the sap to melt, making them much less sticky to work with.

Garden Tip is courtesy of Heather Prince, The Growing Place, 630-355-4000,

www.thegrowingplace.com

Making these was truly a treat for us and a very special treat for our cold, hungry feathered friends in our back yard. We want to thank the folks at the Naperville Sun for sharing this story with us. We hope you’ll enjoy making pine cone bird feeders too.