As the summer holidays are upon us, we want to share some activities each week to keep you and your children entertained and encourage you to go outside and experience the beautiful nature we have around us! Whether you live in the city, countryside or somewhere in between, they can all be done with things you'll likely have at home or that can be found easily nearby.
Bird Feeders
This one is a little different than last week, and brings a benefit to the beautiful birds that live all around us. Bird feeders can be expensive to buy or susceptible to weather damage, so these are a great activity for all ages and can be made over and over again throughout the whole year.
You might need to grab a few things from around the house this week or plan a little in advance before you start, but we've listed everything you need below!
Things you'll need:
- Empty toilet roll tube/s (depending on how many you want to create
- Pencil or skewer (for making holes)
- String
- Peanut butter (or other nut butter)
- Bird seed mix
- Tray and bowl
- Knife and spoon (depending on method, see tips below!)
- A peg (you'll see why later!)
What to do:
Gather up the things you'll need and find a space where you can make the bird feeders. If the weather is dry, it's great to do outside as any mess will be eaten up by the birds!
- First, take the toilet roll tubes and make two holes at one end opposite each other.
- Thread a piece of string through the two holes and tie together, to make a hanging loop (depending on where you'll place your feeder, you can make the string as long or short as you like).
- Spread the peanut butter onto the toilet roll tube, either by using a knife and spreading it on, or place the peanut butter on a board and rotate the toilet roll across it to fully coat. (See our tip below about using a peg!)
- Add bird seed on top of the peanut butter, either by rolling the tube in seeds similar to above, or spooning it over the toilet roll to cover it fully.
- You've done it! Hang it somewhere high up for birds to enjoy (if it's too low, they could be susceptible to predators).
Top tips:
- Clip a peg onto the toilet roll near the string to stop your hands getting too sticky from the peanut butter! You can use this to move the tube around the peanut butter and seeds, meaning mess-free hands at the end.
- Younger children might find it easier to roll/rotate the tube in the peanut butter and seed, so place them each onto a flat surface and let them enjoy creating them.
- If you don't have any toilet roll tubes to hand, you could use cut up kitchen roll tubes or even finished wrapping paper rolls.
- If you're allergic to nuts, you can use an alternative like sunflower butter or a solidified fat such as lard.
- They don't have to be perfect, rustic is best and the birds will enjoy the tasty treats.
We'd love to see your images, share them with us on social media with the tag #OurFDSummer!
