Modern Gardener

Simple DIY Pine Cone Bird Feeder

By Ashley Swansong, PBS Utah Modern Gardener

Are you looking for a fun spring garden activity? These simple pine cone bird feeders are a fun way to spend time outdoors on a balmy day, while also attracting some of Utah’s finest feathered friends to your garden.

During the winter months, Utah's overwintering songbirds have had to work extra hard to find food as their food sources are scarce.

Packed with protein, these pine cone bird feeders are the perfect spring treat and will give our small bird species that extra boost of energy.

“While feeding birds all year is enjoyable for us and beneficial to our birds, it is especially important in the winter, where a source of reliable, high-calorie food and clean, unfrozen water can mean the difference between life and death. Chickadees can eat up to 20 times more calories in the winter than in the summer,” explains Kelli Frame, owner of Wild Birds Unlimited.

Here’s a list of some birds you may see at your feeder: House Finch, House Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Black-capped Chickadee, Mountain Chickadee, ScrubJay, Dark-eyed Junco, Mourning Dove, Spotted Towhee, Downy Woodpecker, Lesser Goldfinch, Red-breasted Nuthatch, American Goldfinch, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Yellow Warbler, Titmouse, Pine Siskin, and Northern Flicker.

“It's not unusual in Utah neighborhoods to see 15-20 different species of feeder birds on any given day,” explains Frame.

Bird species can also vary by location, and some are rarer than others. Refer to birdwatching guides to find species unique to your area. We used the free app Merlin BirdID from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to identify the birds that came to our feeders. The website also offers lots of other birding activities and projects.

“The best way to attract a wide variety of birds to your yard is to offer a wide variety of foods. Peanuts in the shell, shelled peanuts, suet, black oil sunflower, Nyjer, Safflower, hulled sunflower, and spreadable suet all feed different kinds of birds,” says Frame.

You can even be a citizen scientist and participate in bird counting projects like Project FeederWatch.

Frame also advises if you want birds sticking around your yard all year, it’s best to have a wide variety of plants and not to use chemicals.

“Planting a variety of native plants is an important food source to birds, as are the insects that come along with those native plants,” explains Frame. “It's best not to use pesticides in our yards, which can wipe out insects that are an important food source for birds.”

For more information about backyard birding, check out the Nature Centered podcast on Wild Birds Unlimited.

The DIY Pine Cone Bird Feeder!

We made this simple bird feeder using pine cones, ribbon, peanut butter, and bird seed. It’s an easy and fun activity with kids. They also make great gifts to neighbors and friends.

Step 1: Gather your pine cones. It helps to find pine cones that are big, round, and open. We used these large ponderosa pine cones.

Step 2: Tie ribbon or string around the top of the pine cone.

Step 3: A spreadable suet is the ideal sticky medium to hold the seeds, though peanut butter is more accessible and works too. You can use smooth or chunky peanut butter, and while it is preferable to choose a version without added sugar and salt, it is not mandatory. We used smooth, sugarless peanut butter. Sunflower seed butter is a good alternative for those with peanut allergies. Generously cover the pine cone with peanut butter or suet – the more the better.

Step 4: Roll your pine cone feeder in the bird seed. You can really smash a lot of seed onto the cone.

Step 5: Hang your bird feeder and enjoy watching the birds flock to your feeder.

You can also watch our DIY Pine Cone Bird Feeder on the Modern Gardener YouTube Channel.