A kid-friendly project, this pine cone feeder idea will take about half an hour to make. One of the easiest and most effective ways of drawing wildlife into your garden is to build a birdfeeder. You will be amazed at the range of birds that you can attract to your garden using a few simple tricks. One of the most decorative, natural and tasty feeders can be created from a pinecone filled with nutritious seeds to create a perfect winter feast for many different birds and is lots of fun to make as a family.
To create a pinecone feeder you will need a few simple ingredients.
1. A Pinecone that is fully opened
2. String
3. Suet
4. Peanut butter
5. Oats
6. Wild bird seed (You can also add dried fruit and nuts as an extra food source)
To create your pinecone feeder, take a length of string and tie it onto the large end of the pinecone making sure you leave about half a metre in length to tie your feeder onto a tree later on. Take the suet and melt it in a saucepan over a slow heat until it is almost all liquid. In a separate bowl, mix together the peanut butter, oats and wild bird mix – your kids can do this whilst you supervise the melting of the suet. Once melted, carefully pour the suet into the seed mixture and stir well. Whilst it is still warm, take your pine cone and slather the mixture all over it, making sure you get it right into all the little gaps – you can use a teaspoon to help!!
If the mixture is still a little sticky, you can take your stuffed pinecone and roll it in some of the extra birdseed to give it a crunchy coating. Once the mixture has cooled, it will harden and you can take your pinecone out to the garden and hang it from a tree. Make sure you hang it from a branch that you will be able to see from inside the house so you can see all your visitors! As soon as the birds have discovered this tasty treat you will have a continuous flow of birds begging you to make more.
This creative idea is brought to life by the Life is a Garden campaign from the SA Nursery Association find them here!