How to Make Birdseed Treats With No Peanut Butter

Have your kids pick up a few pine cones for birdseed treats.

You don't need to spend lots of money on fancy bird feeders or peanut butter to attract wild birds to your yard. Enlist your children to make birdseed treats that will bring the birds flocking to your home all winter. This is an activity for kids of any age. Even the fattest little fingers can make these treats.

Things You'll Need

• Old newspapers
• String
• Pine cone
• Paint brush
• Honey
• Small bowl
• Wild birdseed
• Plastic shopping bag

Instructions

1. Spread the newspapers over your work surface.

2. Tie string to the top of a pine cone.

3. Pour a little honey into a small bowl.

4. Dip the paint brush into the honey. "Paint" the pine cone with honey.

5. Pour birdseed into the bag. Lower the sticky pine cone by the string into the bag and close it tightly, with an end of the string still outside of the bag. Turn the bag upside down gently several times to coat the pine cone with birdseed.

6. Lift the pine cone out of the bag by the string. Hang the pine cone birdseed treat outdoors.

Tips & Warnings

• You can use pancake syrup instead of honey.

References

• Mother Earth News: Make a Seed Treat and Bird Feeder for Your Feathered Friends
• Care2; How to Make Easy Bird Feeders for Young Children; Annie B. Bond; April, 2000
• A Home for Wild Birds: Wild Bird Food Recipes

Resources

• Attract Wild Birds: How to Make Suet for Wild Birds