Ask Ollie
Cardboard Tube Bird Feeder
Here's one to try together!
Roll, press and hang a seedy snack, then see which feathered friends come to lunch!
Reviewed by our team.
Safety first
- birdseed is for birds only and not for eating
- seed allergen: sunflower seed butter used in place of peanut butter to keep the feeder peanut free
- sharp tool: butter knife for spreading
- grown-up needed to poke holes in the tube
- stick and string are loose items
What you need
- Plate or tray, 1
- Paper, 1 sheet
- Crayons or markers, a few
- Cardboard tube, 1
- Birdseed, about 1 cup
- Sunflower seed butter, about 3 tbsp
- Bowl, 1 small
- String, about 30 cm
- Sturdy stick, 1, about 15 cm
- Spoon, 1
- Pencil or skewer, 1, for poking holes
- Newspaper, a few sheets, or an old cloth
How to do it
Grown-up prep: Gather everything on a covered table. Pour birdseed onto a plate. Plan to poke the holes in the tube yourself. Pick a branch that can be seen from a window.
- Spread sunflower seed butter all over the outside of the tube.
- Roll the sticky tube in birdseed on the plate.
- Press seeds onto any bare spots until it is covered.
- A grown-up pokes two holes near the bottom of the tube. A grown-up does this
- Push the stick through both holes to make a perch. Ask: Which birds do you think will land here first?
- Thread the string through the top of the tube. Ask for help if you need it
- Tie the string in a loop and hang it on a branch you can see from a window. Ask for help if you need it
- Watch each day and draw the birds that visit. Which came, and when? Ask: Which bird came most often, and what time of day did it show up?
Play it again
- Bird chart: tally each visitor by day for a week.
- Seed swap: try a different birdseed and see who comes.
- Feeder family: make two feeders and hang them in different spots to compare.
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