Pine-Cone Bird Feeders

I paired this project with talks about why birds benefit from bird feeders, particularly in the fall and winter months. This was super easy. A my five-year-olds could have done the whole thing on their own, but we cut and tied the strings for them anyway. My two-year-old also managed to do everything but cut and tie. The feeders have been up on our balcony and have already been visited by birds, which the kids find exciting.

Things you need:

Pine-cones
Smooth peanut butter
Bird seed mix
Twine
Spoons
Scissors

How we did it:

Tie pine-cones - Do this before you put anything on the pine-cone. You won’t want to stick your fingers in the mess later. Cut the twine to the length you want. If you don’t know where you’ll be hanging it, be liberal with length. Tie one end of the twine around the stem of the pine-cone, below the first row of horizontal spokes. If you tie the twine to the stem, above the horizontal pieces, it could easily slip out.

You can also tie the center of your twine around the pine-cone and tie the ends together if you want a loop to hang.

Butter it up - Provide smooth peanut butter on a plate or in a bowl, and a spoon, to each kid. Explain that they want to thoroughly coat the outer parts of the pine-cone and let them get started. This part is remarkably easy. I thought of using butter knives, but the curve of the spoon seemed to help them get a thicker layer of peanut butter.

Roll it in seed - We used a small cookie sheet with a raised edge as our seed tray. It doesn’t take very much seed, but I can’t tell you exactly how much you’ll need. Pour a pile of seed out and let each kid take their turn rolling their peanut buttered pine-cone in it. This is also incredibly easy.

Hang it up - Think like a squirrel... and try to outsmart yourself. We hung ours from plant hooks on the eve just outside the sliding door to our balcony. This seemed like it might have been a problem, but we used a pretty generous length of twine, so the squirrels can’t reach the pine-cones from the roof, the floor, the rail, or anywhere on the wall. Also, we have two large dogs who love an opportunity to chase a squirrel.

birdfeeders.com (Link will open in new window) says, “Hang your bird feeder away from trees, bushes, fences or buildings. Squirrels and other predators may use these to climb or jump onto the bird feeder. If you must hang the bird feeder on a tree, keep it at least six feet from the trunk or the tree limbs.”