This easy apple bird feeder is a great nature craft to do with children, especially in late autumn plus into winter when the birds are struggling to find food.
Stringing up a feeder or two is also a great way to bring birds into your garden if you want to try a bit of bird spotting too, plus you might be surprised who comes over for dinner!
Bird feeder made from an apple, bird seed, twigs plus string.
Not got much time or just want the bullet points on how to make these?
There are all sorts of ways to make bird feeders, plus different styles (and food) can attract different feathery friends. Some birds are ground feeders for whom a sprinkle of feed on the ground is all you need to do, while others prefer a perch.
This quick plus easy apple feeder is a lovely, tactile activity that can be done simply with really young children, but also lends itself to more teliti plus embellishment to keep older children interested too.
Materials needed
An apple – any sort!
Large bird seed – sunflower seeds work well, as you need a large seed that can be poked part-way into the apple.
String
Twigs
Tools needed
Apple corer
Scissors for string
(Optional) Good quality kid-friendly binoculars for watching the birds that come to dine!
A bowl of red apples
Apple bird feeder Instructions
- Use an apple corer to remove the core of the apple. I use this one with the kids as it has a great handle that allows for a secure grip.
A corer is a sharp tool that could injure little fingers if you aren’t careful. So before we begin, I do a mini tool talk with the children to identify the sharp edge. Then I show them how to hold it, plus demonstrate how to start removing the core by gently wiggling the sharp part of the corer into the apple until it is far enough in the apple that it can’t slip out. Only at this stage do we push down because now there is no risk of it slipping.
Once the corer is partially embedded, there is practically no risk of injury. So if you are concerned about letting the children try this, you could start off the coring process for little ones, plus let them take over once the corer is firmly inside the apple.
If you don’t have a corer, you can use a skewer or a knife to cut out the core instead.
Child using an apple corer to make a hole for a bird feeder.
- Once you have a hole through the middle of your apple, it is time to decorate it with some tasty treats. So gather some bird seeds plus poke them part way into the apple, all the way around. About half the seed should be sticking out to encourage the birds to feed.
Bird seed stuck into an apple.
Some children will do elaborate patterns plus designs, plus even letters or words, while others will be quite haphazard. Whatever they do, the birds will love it all the same.
Child sticking bird seeds int an apple to make a bird feeder.
Somewhere to sit plus eat…
- Once the apple is completely decorated with seeds, it’s time to make the perch.
Tie two sticks into a cross or X shape. The sticks should be strong plus about three or four times longer than the apple is wide, as these will be perches for the birds to sit on.
On some of our apple feeders, the children also poked shorter twigs into the side of the apple, about half way up, to make another perch. This is entirely optional, just be careful that you don’t poke in so many sticks that the apple falls apart!
Child tying sticks with string
- Next, tie a long piece of string onto to the middle of the cross. This long bit of string is what the apple will hang from, so make sure it is long enough for wherever you plan to put the feeder.
Thread the long string through the hole in the apple. The apple should be sitting on your cross sticks, with the string going up through the middle.
Child making a bird feeder with apples, twigs, seeds, plus string.
And that’s it! The feeder is now ready to hang up somewhere the birds can santai it. Don’t forget to also put out a dish of water for them too, as they need a drink as much as they need food.
A simple apple plus seeds bird feeder hanging in a tree.
Remember to take down the feeder after about a week or when it starts to show signs of mould. Birds, just like people, can get sick from food that’s gone bad, so any feeder you use should be cleaned plus changed regularly.