If your child loves the outdoors and nature, they’ll love making this DIY bird (seed) feeder. It’s easy to make, easy on the pocket, and best of all, perfect for little hands.
What you’ll need
- Cookie cutters
- Suet – ask at your local butchery or even in the meat section at the grocery store for a small bag, preferably already minced up.
- Wild bird seed – the finer the seed, the easier it will be to squeeze into the different shapes and it will stick together more readily than the clumpier seeds.
- Ribbon or string – buy a couple of different colours, depending on how colourful you’d like to make your hanging loops.
- Wax paper – so you don’t ruin your new wooden chopping board
- Scissors – adult supervision at all times and no running with them
Step-by-step guide
Step 1: Melt 500g of suet in a pot on low heat on the stove. Let it cool down a little. It should be a little bit thick so it’s not too hot to work with, but you should still be able to pour it so don’t let it stand for too long.
Step 2: Take one cup of birdseed and mix it into your melted and slightly hardened suet to make a nice thick and sticky paste.
Step 3: Put a sheet of wax paper on a chopping board and place your cookie cutters on the wax paper.
Top Tip: Use cookie cutters that have big areas to fill to make sure the mixture holds together nicely. We wouldn’t want them to fall apart!
Step 4: Pack the cookie cutters as tightly as you can with the birdseed mixture, pressing and squashing it in as firmly as possible.
Step 5: Use a straw to push a hole through the mixture where the string or ribbon will be looped through later. Remember not to make it too close to the edge or you’ll risk the weight of the decoration breaking the loop when you hang it.
Step 6: Place your filled cookie cutters in the fridge overnight or in the freezer for a few hours to let the mixture set properly.
Step 7: Once the mixture has set, gently push the birdseed ornaments out of the cookie cutters.
Step 8: Cut the string or ribbon (about 15 – 20cm long) and loop them through the hole, tying a knot at the end.
Step 9: Hang your decorations on a tree outside for the birds to enjoy.
