Pinecone Bird Feeder

We are studying birds in our science curriculum (which we absolutely love!), and when we came to an experiment in which we compare two different bird seeds, we decided to wait until winter when the birds are really looking for food! The book suggested using real bird feeders or making some out of two liter bottles (with directions provided), but I decided that we would go the easy route and make some out of pine cones!

We made pine cone bird feeders last year, and we really enjoyed watching the birds that came to our yard! It seems like we get a lot of birds that migrate here in the winter since our winters are fairly mild. The downside of pine cone feeders, though, is that the birds don’t really have a place to stand, so it takes some time for them to figure out how to eat from them. Eventually I would like to make better feeders, but in light of how crazy life is at the moment, I figured these feeders would be better than not ever getting around to making any!

Tie a string around the top of a large pine cone. Then spread peanut butter over the sides of the pine cone.

Once your pine cone is covered with peanut butter, roll it in bird seed to coat. We used two kinds of seed so that we can see which one the birds like better: black oil sunflower seeds and thistle seeds.

Now we’re just waiting for the birds to come!