Bird Feeder

We all the know the benefit of having birds in the garden. Yes they do occasionally eat seed but they are also invaluable in regards to eating garden pest. So I thought I would pass along a nice winter project that you could work on with your children to help keep your birds fed through the winter. A couple of months ago my kids built a few simple bird feeders that now hang from a lilac bush outside of our dining room window. It has brought all sorts of beautiful bright feathered guest to our home. Cardinals, blue jays and black capped chickadees just to name a few.

These particular bird feeders are extremely easy to build. First thing you need to do is find some large pine cones. Take some twine and tie it to the top of the pine cone. Then cover the pine cone in peanut butter and then roll the peanut butter covered pine cone in bird seed. The peanut butter acts like an edible glue and the pine cone is covered in seed. Then simply hang the pine cones from the branch of your favorite tree and watch the birds feast. We have four pine cone bird feeders and have found that we have to cover the pine cones about once a week to keep up with the all the activity.

Tobias Whitaker blogs for Mother Earth News and Grit Magazine. Click on the Mother Earth News logo at the bottom of the page for all of his post. You can also find him on Facebook at Seed To Harvest: Bossy Hen Homestead  https://www.facebook.com/seedtoharvestbossyhenhomestead/ which is a central location for his homesteading blogs and his homeschooling blog, A Mile In Her Shoes: Tales Of A Stay-At Home Dad found here https://amileinhershoestalesofastayathomedad.wordpress.com/