How to Build a Bird Feeder With Fruit

Enjoy watching orioles dine at your fruit-based bird feeder.

Songbirds, such as tanagers and orioles, are attracted to bird feeders that include fruit. Simple, yet creative, bird feeders can be made to draw these birds into your yard so you can enjoy listening to them sing and watching them feed from your homemade feeder. Creating a fruit-based bird feeder is an activity that provides a fun learning experience for families or students, involving the use of fine motor skills and the reward of watching wildlife feed from the homemade feeders.

Things You'll Need

• Whole orange
• Paring knife
• Grapefruit spoon
• 1/2 cup birdseed
• 1/2 cup dried fruit or nuts
• Twine
• Scissors

Instructions

1. 

   Orange halves make an edible bird feeder.

   Cut a whole orange in half. Scoop out the fruit with a grapefruit spoon and place the fruit in a bowl. Set the hollowed out orange rind halves aside.

2. Chop the orange fruit into small peanut-sized pieces. Add 1/2 cup of birdseed and 1/2 cup of dried fruit or nuts, or a half-and-half mixture of both.

3. Stir the ingredients together to mix them thoroughly. Set the mixture aside.

4. 

   Use sturdy twine to hang your homemade bird feeder.

   Poke a hole into each side of both orange halves, about 1/2 inch below the top. Feed the end of the twine through one end and tie a knot. Cut the twine 10 to 12 inches away from the knot and feed the end through the other hole. Knot the other end, too, to secure a hanger for the fruit bird feeder.

5. Spoon half of the orange, birdseed, fruit and nut mixture into each orange rind half. Hang the bird feeders on a branch outside where you'll be able to see the birds as they eat out of the feeder.

Tips & Warnings

• Substitute a hollowed out apple for the orange. Leave enough of the apple fruit inside the apple to bear the weight of the seeds and birds as they feed.

• Experiment with different types of seeds, such as sunflower seeds, thistle or birdseed mixes, to attract different types of birds.

References

• PBS: Edible Bird Feeders: Extensions
• Bird Watcher's Digest; Easy Fruit Feeder; Mary Curtis