Chai Brady
Inspiring an appreciation for nature and care for animals is what many parents strive to foster in their children.
With one activity you can check this box as well as so many others. Building a bird feeder using a cardboard carton is a good way of recycling, being creative as well as helping local wildlife flourish.
When it comes to cardboard cartons as long as they’re the right shape and they haven’t stored any toxic or potentially poisonous substances, you can use anything really, but tried and tested containers are milk or juice cartons.
All you need is scissors or a craft knife (make sure young children are supervised), a pencil or stick to use as a perch for the birds, some durable string and your chosen carton.
- On the side of the carton, about a quarter of the way up, draw a door shape large enough for a small bird to fit through, then cut it out.
- To make the perch, pierce a hole below the door opening (with scissors or a craft knife) and another at the same height on the opposite side of the carton to feed a pencil or stick through.
- The birds can then balance on the perch as they nibble on the birdseed. Make the roof by piercing three holes into the top of the carton. To hang your bird feeder, thread some string though the holes in the roof and tie in a loop.
- Then decorate the bird feeder any way you like.
- Finally, fill the bottom of the carton with birdseed and hang it wherever birds can access it.
The fun doesn’t end when you completed your bird feeder and filled it, now you can keep a look out for some local visitors! Picking up a book on birds and learning how to identify it could be the beginning of a new hobby.
Depending on where you place your bird feeder it’s probably best to get a pair of binoculars, this way you can get a better look at your winged friends and, if you want, figure out the species that is most prevalent in your area, and who knows, maybe you’ll even spot some rare and beautiful specimens.