Did you know that February is National Bird Feeding Month?  Neither did I until recently. It’s amazing what you learn when you have kids!

National Bird Feeding Month is an official holiday proclaimed by Congress in 1994.  The holiday encourages people to provide food, water and shelter for birds especially during the cold winter months.

My daughter made homemade bird feeders as part of a badge that she is working on with her American Heritage Girls troop.  My boys liked the bird feeders and made a few of their own as well.  We hung the feeders on a tree that we can see from our kitchen window.

I had no idea that my kids would have so much fun watching birds!  We sit at the kitchen table and watch the birds as we eat our meals.  The kids have learned the names of all of the different varieties of birds that visit our feeders. They can also identify male and female cardinals by their coloring.  When a new bird visits our tree, they immediately want to look online to find out what it is.  It has been great mealtime entertainment.

If your family would like to attract a few feathered friends to your backyard, here are a few simple ideas for homemade bird feeders to make with the kids.

• Toilet paper tube feeder.  Cover an empty toilet paper tube with peanut butter and roll in bird seed.  Hang with a piece of twine.
• Milk jug feeder.  Start with a clean, empty plastic milk jug.  Cut two windows into the sides. Let the kids paint the outside of the jug.  Push a stick through the jug for a perch. Fill with birdseed.
• Cheerio feeder.  String cheerios onto a pipe cleaner, twist the two ends together and bend the pipe cleaner into the shape of your choice.
• Orange cup bird feeder.  Cut an orange in half and scoop out the flesh. Pierce four small holes in the sides of the orange.  Thread one piece of twine through one hole and out the hole in the opposite side.  Repeat with another piece of twine in the remaining two holes. Gather the twine and tie a knot to hang.  Fill the empty orange half with birdseed.
• Pine cone bird feeder.  Collect large, open pine cones.  Attach a piece of twine to the top for hanging. Spread with peanut butter and roll in birdseed.

Hang your bird feeders and enjoy!