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Practical Considerations

Attract Birds to your Garden with these Crafty Ideas

© Beverley Paine Jun 2004

We've noticed birds collecting nesting materials in our garden lately. Here are some things you can do to attract birds to your garden and encourage them to nest, so you can watch the baby birds growing up!

Bird houses are a wonderful addition to a garden.
I remember the three of us hanging out the small bathroom window to watch the baby birds leaving their bird house for the first time in a downpour. Birds and other backyard wildlife are fascinating to watch and give children an appreciation of nature.

Build a bird house from a plastic 2 litre drink bottle. Turn the bottle on its side, cut little windows/doors high up on the sides. Fold masking tape over rough edges. Paint, or cover the bottle with fabric (but not inside). Hang from a tree branches, or hide deep in a bushy shrub, for small birds to nest in.

Make a bird feeder
Combine melted suet and birdseed. Pour into an old milk carton and insert a loop of string into the mixture. After the mixture hardens, tear away the carton and hang it from a branch.

Make a Pine Cone Bird Feeder
This is a simple project even very young children can do by themselves. You will need:
  * Large pine cones
  * Corn Meal
  * Shortening (or bacon fat, melted suet, etc.)
  * Bird seed and/or bread crumbs
  * Cake pan
  * String or wool
Mix corn meal and shortening. Spread mixture thickly into the crevices and all over the pine cone. Pour bird seed and/or bread crumbs into the cake pan. Dip and roll the pine cone in the bird seed so that it sticks to the mixture and covers the pine cone. Let this harden overnight, then tie a piece of string or yarn to the very top of the pine cone. Loop the string under the topmost "leaves" of the pine cone and tie a knot in the top. Hang the bird feeder on a tree branch in the yard, and watch the birds flock in!

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