Easy Homemade Bird Treats

This morning Luke and Lila got busy crafting and made some little treats for the birds in our neighborhood.  It can be hard for birds to find food during the winter months so it’s always kind to leave some goodies out.  We’re not bird experts and I have no idea whether these easy homemade bird treats are good for the wildlife in our area, but we’re hoping so because the intent of these little toddlers was definitely good {wink}.

We’ve made treats for birds in the past and they were stolen by squirrels so we’re hoping these treats have a better fate … or that the birds at least get a taste before the other animals get to them.

To make homemade bird treats, you’ll need pipecleaners or wire, cheerios, and popped popcorn.

Luke and Lila carefully strung the cheerios onto the pipecleaners …

… which is a great way for little ones to practice dexterity and hand/eye coordination.

Once they got enough cereal onto the pipecleaners, I helped them make circles and twist the ends together to form little wreaths to hang in the trees.

We also strung pieces of popped popcorn onto a heart that I shaped from craft wire.

This was a bit too difficult for little hands and required a lot of adult assistance but I love the look of it.  If you attempt to use popcorn, be sure to poke the wire through the soft part of the popcorn for the best results.

Once the bird treats were complete, we hung them on high branches in our barren trees and now we’re constantly glancing out the windows to see if they’ve been discovered by the neighborhood birds.

The kids can’t wait to see the birds snacking on their crafts!

Luke and Lila loved making these little bird craft treats for our feathered friends.

For more bird-related ideas, be sure to check out these repurposed ideas for bird feeders …

… a DIY cedar bird feeder with a recipe for homemade peanut butter suet …

… and some easy ideas for attracting birds to your yard.