Easiest DIY Homemade Bird Feeder (with toilet paper roll or pinecone)

When you’re stuck inside all winter, there is nothing better than bringing nature inside and to being able to enjoy the outdoors from your window, with a DIY pinecone toilet paper roll, peanut butter and nut/seed bird feeder. Living in Minnesota when winter lasts from October through April, I need to find ways to engage with nature even when it is -20 F. Our homemade feeders, from he first day they were out, have attracted woodpeckers, black capped chickadees, blue birds, cardinals, sparrows, robins and other backyard birds. Better yet, this style bird feeder has so far been inaccessible to squirrels as they have come near but not been able to reach or hang on to the simple homemade feeder. Make your DIY bird seed feeder in less than 5 minutes!

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Easiest Homemade DIY Bird Feeder

Want the easiest DIY homemade bird feeder? Use a paper towel roll, toilet paper roll, pinecone or any piece of cardboard, and many options of household pantry items like peanut or seed butter and bird seed, sunflower seed or household pantry items like cashews and raisins (or almost any dried fruit, seed, nut or whole grain)!

Materials:

1. Base: Toilet paper roll, paper towel roll, pine cone or any piece of cardboard.

2. String: Yarn, ribbon, twine, fishing line, embroidery floss, wire, etc.

3. Adhesive: Peanut butter, sunflower butter, almond Butter, or any unsweetened, unsalted nut/seed butter.

4. Food: Unsalted, unsweetened nuts, seeds, freeze dried fruit or even whole grains (see list below):

   • Raw, unsalted, unsweetened nuts or seeds:

     • Cashews

     • Sunflower seeds (shelled or unshelled)

     • Peanuts

     • Almonds

     • Walnut

     • Pecan

     • Brazil nuts

     • Macadamia nuts

     • Pistachio

     • Sesame seeds

     • Hemp seeds

     • Chia seeds

     • Alfalfa

   • Raw, unsalted whole grains:

     • Oats

     • Buckwheat

     • Millet

     • Quinoa

     • Barley

     • Rye

     • Cooked white or brown rice

   • Unsweetened, freeze-dried fruit with no additives:

     • Raisins

     • Cranberries

     • Currants

     • Blueberries

     • Apples

     • Strawberries

     • Apricot

     • Banana

     • Mango

     • Nectarine

     • Orange

     • Papaya

     • Peach

     • Pear

     • Pineapple

   • Any bird seed mix (without thistle seed since this will lead to thistle growing in your lawn!)

Instructions:

1. Away from children, use sharp knife and cutting board to chop nuts, seeds, whole grains or fruit into small pieces.

2. Find base: pinecone, toilet paper rill, paper towel roll or piece of cardboard cut into any shape.

   • If using piece of cardboard, poke hole in top center.

3. On large plate or tray, help your child use butter knife, plastic knife or spoon to smear nut/seed butter evenly over base.

   • Consider mixing in more oil to base if the nut/seed butter is too thick and not spreadable.

4. Mix and spread finely chopped nuts, seeds, whole grains or fruit on large plate or tray.

   • Please remember to use unsalted, unsweetened nuts, seeds and fruits to avoiding harming birds.

5. Help your child roll the base in the food multure until evenly coated.

6. Tie string to hang feeder to tree branch or outdoor hook.

• Toilet paper (paper towe)l roll: Thread string through center pf roll, leaving enough extra string to tie and hang horizontally from branch or hook.

• Pine cone: Tie string tightly around top grooves of pine with double (square) knot and then tie another knot to make a loop to hang from branch or hook.

• Piece of cardboard: Thread string through hole and tie knot to form loop to hang from branch or hook.

• If you have the base of an empty bird seed bell (see below and my own toilet paper roll feeder base), simply place the toilet paper roll on the base. This is a great lesson in the three R’s: Reduce, reuse, recycle

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Don’t wait, try the easiest DIY homemade bird feeder using a paper towel roll, toilet paper roll, pinecone or any piece of cardboard, and many options of household pantry items like peanut or seed butter and bird seed, sunflower seed or household pantry items like cashews and raisins (or almost any dried fruit, seed, nut or whole grain)!