How to Make a Feeder for Your Feathered Friends

It is the middle of winter where I live and the birds are continually looking for something to sustain them through the cold months ahead until the berries and seeds begin to appear. The other day my youngest son bounded off the bus with a somwhat worrried look in his eye. It seems he and several of his friends noticed birds searching for food on the playground at recess and so they took it upon themselves to bring out some scraps from their lunches to feed the birds later in the day. What they found astounded them. Not only were the birds grateful but there were far more birds than four young boys could feed and in fact the birds began to battle for the food.

We began to brainstorm for something that we could do to help the birds and the environment at the same time. you see, my son's school puts an emphasis on recycling so we wanted this project to be one that would not only help the birds but the environment as well, using items that might otherwise be bound for the trash heap.

What we came up with we call "Feeders for friends"

The supplies needed are thus:

Milk or orange juice carton washed of any remaining fluids and dried

paint or waterproof markers to decorate said carton

twine or string that perhaps came with a package.

wild bird seed, crushed crackers, whole grain cereal, or even stale bread cut into small pieces

To assemble this feeder is easy. Close securely the open top of the carton if needed with glue or staples.

Punch a hole in the top of the carton and thread twine or string through hole with a length long enough to go over a branch

cut out rectangles from the sides of the carton about 3" up from the bottom (that is where the food for the birds will lie and the deeper the better.

decorate the outside of the carton if desired with paint (sealing later with clear sealant if needed) and you are done.

This is a project that would work well for any number of children, a scout group, party activity or classroom project. The hard part is collecting the cartons but other than that, it is a fantastic project to teach kids how to be responsible for wildlife and show caring as well. Even kids need to know that little actions on their parts do matter.