Not only is making your own bird feeder a great way to get birds to visit your garden, but kids can also birdwatch and study each species that visit. It's a fun way to learn about the birds that are native to your area!
Putting out homemade bird feeders ensures our feathered friends have food even when it is scarce, especially during the winter months.
You might also like to check out our list of bird crafts for kids.
DIY Bird Feeder Ideas
Ready to get started? Here are a few homemade bird feeder ideas for kids to make that we've had fun making!
Orange Homemade Bird Feeder
Our Homemade Orange Bird Feeder is easy, natural, and so much fun to put together! This simple citrus fruit filled with birdseed is the perfect way to attract some hungry birds to your yard. Gelatin holds the birdseed together in the orange rind, making it easy for your feathered friends to perch and eat.
Homemade Apple Bird Feeder
Swap the oranges for apples and make this fun Apple Bird Feeder. This homemade bird feeder is easy to make and most of the items used can be eaten by the birds, which is definitely a bonus!
Peanut Butter Homemade Bird Feeder
This classic kids' craft is always a winner. Put a Peanut Butter Bird Feeder together in just minutes with a cardboard tube, peanut butter, birdseed, and a few other materials. This activity is best done when you know you'll have a couple of dry days for the birds to find the seed and eat it.
Homemade Bird Feeders using Gelatin
Our earliest Homemade Bird Feeders for Kids to Make were made with birdseed, gelatin, and cookie cutters to turn them into fun shapes. Using cookie cutters makes it easy to adapt this activity to any holiday or season. These bird feeders are great for children of all ages to make and they make great gifts too.
Make your Own Cheerios Bird Feeders
Our heart-shaped Cheerios Bird Feeders are perfect for February. What better way to show some love than by taking care of our fellow creatures in nature? It's a little harder for birds to find food during the winter months, so they'll enjoy this tasty treat! This DIY bird feeder is great for toddlers and preschoolers to make as they work on fine motor skills.
Homemade Milk Jug Bird Feeder
Who needs a fancy bird feeder when you can make a Milk Jug Bird Feeder using recycled materials from your kitchen? Save a milk bottle, wash it, and fill the bottom with birdseed. Make a hole for the bird, and don't forget to include a perch for the birds to rest on while they snack on their seed.
Milk Carton Bird House
You could also get creative and make a milk carton bird house to fill with bird seed.
Pine Cone Bird Feeder
Have fun using pine cones along with fruit (fresh or dried), peanut butter and seeds to make these pine cone bird feeders.
Easy Homemade Bird Feeders
How to make a Bird Feeder Wreath
This Bird Feeder Wreath by Sugar Spice and Glitter is just gorgeous! It's best suited to cold weather if you want to hang it up as a wreath. If it's warmer than freezing temperatures, place it on a plate so that it doesn't fall apart. The dried fruit added to the wreath is a nice addition that will give birds a little variety from only birdseed.
Homemade Fat Balls
Birds need energy-rich foods to maintain their fat reserves through the winter, so these Homemade Fat Ball Bird Feeders by Growing Family will be most welcome during those cold months when food is more scarce. You can choose to make these bird feeders with lard, suet, or solid vegetable fat. Put your ingredients in a cup until it's all firm and set, and then hang it in a tree for the birds to snack on.
DIY Snowman Bird Feeder
How cute is this Snowman Bird Feeder Craft by How We Learn? It's your typical peanut butter and birdseed feeder but packaged in a totally fun way. This is a wonderful winter bird feeder for preschoolers to make as you emphasise the need to take care of the birds when they struggle to find food.
Pine Cone DIY Bird Feeders
Connect with nature and find some new feathered friends with this fun Pine Cone Bird Feeder by Preschool Inspirations. You'll coat the pine cone with peanut butter and birdseed to make a cute hanging bird feeder for the trees outside. This is a fun homemade bird feeder to make with a class or at home with the kids.
Owl Bird Feeder
Recycle a juice carton to make this adorable Juice Carton Owl Bird Feeder by Red Ted Art. Not only is this bird feeder great for feeding the birds in your backyard, but it'll look really cute, too.
Rainbow Popsicle Stick DIY Bird Feeder
Use craft time to do this fun building project for the birds. This Rainbow Popsicle Stick Bird Feeder by Grace Giggles and Naptime is colourful, fun, and will make a great addition to your yard or garden. Use pre-painted jumbo craft sticks to make quick work of the building.
Recycled Bottle Hummingbird Feeder
Don't forget about the hummingbirds! They love drinking nectar, and their long, pointy beaks are the perfect size to fit inside the straws, which fills up with the sugar water mixture. The red flowers on this Recycled Bottle Hummingbird Feeder from Kids Activities Blog help attract the hummingbirds to this homemade hummingbird feeder.
Milk Carton DIY Bird Feeder
This Milk Carton Bird Feeder by Happiness is Homemade is another fun option for juice or milk cartons bird feeders. The tissue paper squares make a colourful mosaic. Coat them with outdoor mod podge to make them last longer out in the elements.
Ice Cream Cone Homemade Bird Feeder
During the summer months, when you're enjoying lots of ice cream cones yourself, save one for the birds! This Ice Cream Cone Bird Feeder by Natural Beach Living is made with a cone, peanut butter, birdseed, and cereal and will definitely be a delicious treat for the birds in your area.
PB&J Birdseed Ornaments
Grab your favourite colourful cookie cutters to make these cute PB&J Birdseed Ornaments by Sugar Spice and Glitter. The jelly flavor comes from the flavored gelatin in the recipe. Otherwise, it's your usual birdseed ornament using peanut butter and gelatin. The Mickey bird feeder ornament is our favourite!
Homemade Bird Suet
Did you know that you can make your own Homemade Bird Suet with only five simple ingredients? Intelligent Domestications shows you how, using crunchy peanut butter, oatmeal, shortening, cornmeal, and birdseed. You may have everything you need at home already! Insect-eating birds, such as woodpeckers, jays, and wrens, enjoy suet, but you may find other birds flying in for a bite as well.
How to Make a Plastic Bottle Bird Feeder
Turn your empty water, juice, or Gatorade bottles into simple bird feeders kids can make! This Plastic Bottle Bird Feeder tutorial from Natural Beach Living shows you how to use a plastic bottle along with plastic spoons for perches to create a welcoming, comfortable feeding place for visiting birds. You could also use wooden spoons instead of plastic ones if you prefer.
Paint Can Homemade Bird Feeder
These simple Paint Can Bird Feeders by Mom Endeavors are easy to put together and will last a long time! Make sure you use new paint cans with no paint in them, as some paints inside the canister could be toxic to birds. However, you can paint the can's exterior to make it look nice for a tree in your yard.
DIY Teacup Bird Feeder
If you have a space teacup and matching saucer, repurpose them to make this Teacup Bird Feeder by AttaGirl Says. You can often find china inexpensively at yard sales and thrift shops, but odds are you already have one on hand!
Homemade Apple Birdseed Feeder
This Apple Birdseed Bird Feeder by Natural Beach Living is a wonderful fall craft that kids and adults alike will enjoy. The entire bird feeder (except for the hanging apparatus) is edible, so the birds will have quite a lot to feed on. Won't this be a fun bird feeder craft to make after a visit to the apple orchard or when you're baking an apple pie?
DIY Mason Jar Bird Feeder
This Mason Jar Bird Feeder by The Country Chic Cottage is quick and easy to put together and looks great in any garden. Birds can fly in quickly to the perch and pop their heads right inside to peck at the birdseed.
Homemade Winter Bird Feeders
Make lovely Winter Bird Feeders with greenery, berries, and birdseed. These Diy Winter Bird Feeders by Fireflies and Mud Pies are made by freezing the greenery to make a bowl shape and filling it with birdseed. Doesn't it look Christmasy?
Pin this list of homemade bird feeders so you'll have plenty of ideas for feeding your feathered friends through every season! We hope you find several DIY bird feeder ideas to give a try! Kids will have so much fun making these bird feeders (and big kids too!).
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