National Wild Bird Feeding Month~

I get a kick out of the assortment of things celebrated each month~ February happens to be National Grapefruit Month, Cherry Month, National Embroidery Month and Wild Bird Feeding Month, among many others!  It is simple to feed 'backyard' birds and rewarding too. You never know who will stop by for a snack, especially during migration periods. Try these inexpensive ways to attract wild birds to your property~

• coat a pinecone with peanut butter, roll in bird seed & hang.

                                                       

• slice a bagel in half, smear a mixture of peanut butter and shortning on the cut side, then press firmly into bird seed, hang.
• shove a donut or an orange onto a branch
• rinse and dry a paper milk carton, cut an opening in one side about an inch from the bottom & fill with seed. Hang in a tree. You can also make feeders from cans and 2 litre bottles. Click on link for directions.
• let children use large cookie cutters to cut shapes into stale bread, then hang from a string in a tree
• Black Oil Sunflower seeds in a tubular feeder will attract many species
•  mealworms, nectar and fruit are treats for many birds
• the National Bird Feeding Society gives the following recipe for home-made bird 'cake':

Mix 1 cup each of corn meal, uncooked oatmeal, flour, wheat germ and raisins together. Stir in 1 cup of skim milk and 1/2 cup shortning. Place thick batter in greased cake pan and bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Cool. Place in suet/basket style feeder.

Don't forget to provide water, shelter, nesting boxes and nest building materials if you really want to attract wild birds. I place dryer lint in mesh bags (recycled fruit/veggie containers) and hang in our trees. The birds pull the lint through the holes of the mesh bag and use it to line their nests. Do not place feeders too close to windows, or birds may fly into them. 

Here is a card I made while thinking of our avian friends~

I used a ScrapFx scroll, cardboard and a small clay tile I made and stamped with a bee~