Don't throw away that paper milk carton! Instead, transform it into a bird feeder.
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First, you thoroughly wash out the quart milk container. With sharp scissors, you cut two rectangular flaps on opposite sides of the container -- each flap should be about two inches up from the bottom of the carton. Now, open up the flaps. These flaps will serve as awnings to keep rain out of your bird seed.
Use a pencil to poke two holes in your container. Each hole should be centered below each cut-out flap and almost flush with the bottom of the carton. Find a straight long twig and push it through the two holes. This twig will serve as a perch for the feeding birds.
Now, punch another hole in the top sealed edge of the carton. A hammer and nail works well for this procedure. Where the carton was opened for pouring, tape or staple it shut. Tie a long length of thick kite string through this hole so you can hang your feeder. Punch several tiny holes in the bottom of your feeder for drainage.
Finally, use a knitting needle to poke a very small hole near the edge of each of the two flaps. Knot the end of a short length of kite string and thread it through either one of these small holes. Continue to thread the string up through the large hole in the top of your feeder and then through the small hole in the other flap. Tie off the string so both flaps are permanently held open.
What's the best way to hang your feeder?
A great idea is to run a wire, about ten feet off the ground, between your house and a nearby tree. (Ask a parent for help with this set-up.) Toss the string that's attached to the feeder over the wire, then host your feeder into the air. Tie the string firmly around the trunk. Squirrels will have a hard time trying to raid your feeder. When your feeder is empty, you simple lower it to the ground and add more seed.
Do birds have a favorite food?
Most songbirds eat wild seeds from grasses, flowers and trees. Don't spend your money, however, on bags of mixed seeds. Different birds peck through a mix, searching for their preferred tidbits. Piles of less-tasty seeds spill on the ground and rot. Instead, offer only one kind of food in your home-made feeder.
The black-oil sunflower seed is a favorite among many types of backyard flappers. It can be purchased at a garden shop. The seed was produced especially for bird feeding 20 years ago. The hull is easy for birds to crack. Inside, it's rich in protein, fats, vitamins and minerals -- all necessary ingredients for a bird in winter. A fun experiment: hang several home-made feeders, each with a different kind of seed, and you'll see what birds enjoy which seeds.
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