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Make a pine cone bird feeder by following these easy instructions.
Enjoying nature is good for both the young and old. Adults can easily foster a love for and appreciation of birds in children by making bird feeders with them. The following instructions illustrate how to make an inexpensive pine cone bird feeder that will surely bring you and your young ornithologist hours of bird watching pleasure.
Step 1:

Gather your supplies. To create a pine cone bird feeder, you'll need the following things:

  • Large pine cone
  • 4 feet of yarn
  • Equal parts peanut butter and margarine (about 2 tbsp. each)
  • A handful of bird seed
  • Wax paper (newspaper will do in a pinch)
  • Some newspaper to catch the mess on your work surface!
Step 2:

Create a hanger for your bird feeder. Before you turn your bird feeder into a sticky mess, you should first attach the hanger to it. This will be what allows your pine cone bird feeder to hang from the tree. Tie your piece of yarn or string to the top of your pine cone, creating a loop at the top of it.

Step 3:

Mix the ‘bird seed glue'. Now you can start to make the tasty part of this bird feeder. In a mixing bowl, combine the peanut butter and the margarine. Mix it well with a fork or an electric hand mixer. Then, roll up your sleeves and prepare to get messy! Take a spatula and spread the peanut butter and margarine mixture all over the pine cone, from top to bottom. (Mom and dad, little ones might enjoy using their hands for this part!) Make sure that you get it into all of the nooks and crannies of the pine cone. Shove it as deep into the center of the pine cone as it will reach. If you don't have enough of the mixture to put a thick layer on your pine cone bird feeder, mix up some more until you're satisfied that every inch of your pine cone has been covered with peanut butter and margarine.

Step 4:

Cover it in bird seed. With your pine cone bird feeder now covered in ‘bird seed glue' (peanut butter and margarine), the bird seed should stick to it. Pour out the bird seed onto a baking pan. Then roll your pine cone all over the baking pan. This should cause the bird seed to stick to the sticky mixture covering your pine cone. Continue to roll around your bird feeder until you have collected all of the bird seed on your baking sheet. (Again, if you find that you don't have enough bird seed to entirely cover your pine cone bird feeder, just add more! There is no perfect recipe - just keep adding until you've got enough.)

Step 5:

Freeze your pine cone bird feeder. Once you have sufficiently covered your bird feeder with bird seed, wrap it in wax paper or newspaper to stop the mess from spreading, and then place it in your freezer. Leave it there for about an hour or until the entire feeder feels firm. After about an hour in the freezer, your pine cone bird feeder is ready to hang outside.

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