20 Easy DIY Bird Feeders for Kids and Adults

Love bird watching? Get the whole family involved by making your very own DIY bird feeders together! Find easy ideas below, and a few advanced ones as well.

There are a lot of good reasons to feed the birds in your backyard. For one, it’s free entertainment! Who doesn’t like seeing cute little birdies right outside their window? Even kids will have a lot of fun spotting different bird types of birds throughout the day.

There are other benefits of bird feeders too, though. For example, by feeding your neighborhood birds you’re helping them survive, eat more healthily, and you’re helping bird mamas feed their young. You’re doing a lot of good!

So, while you’re making any of the homemade bird feeders below, just remember how much they’re going to help your little neighborhood friends. 🙂

DIY Bird Feeders for Kids

If you’re looking for easy and creative ideas to try with your kids, these are perfect! Some of them can be put together in under half an hour. For some more advanced ideas, scroll down further.

1. Toilet Roll Bird Feeder

This is as easy as it gets. If you’re just looking for a quick craft to make with the kids and you want to get to the bird watching action as soon as possible, put one of these toilet roll bird feeders together, hang it, and wait!

While you’re at it (and after you’ve gathered some empty toilet rolls), try these other toilet roll crafts too.

Get the full tutorial from The Resourceful Mama.

2. Craft Stick Bird Feeder

Craft sticks are inexpensive and easy to work with making them the perfect material for DIY bird feeders. You can use a variety of different colored craft sticks as well to create something really colorful!

If you’re in need of craft sticks, you can get them on Amazon for cheap. Be sure to check out our other popsicle stick crafts to use up any extras!

Get the full tutorial from Animallama.

3. Tin Can Bird Feeder

This one is really fun for kids as they get to use a bit of paint to make their very own customized bird feeder. And all you need is a tin can and some other common materials!

If you like crafts like this, check out our other tin can craft ideas.

Get the full tutorial from Momtastic.

4. Apple Bird Feeders

This is a neat idea because nearly the entire bird feeder is edible! I’m sure the squirrels in your neighborhood will thoroughly enjoy snacking on these as well. 😉

Get the full tutorial from Natural Beach Living.

5. Plastic Bottle Bird Feeder

Here’s another quick and easy idea that you can put together with the kids. All you need is a plastic bottle of any kind, some sort of skewer for the birds to sit on, a washer or nut, and some twine to hang it up!

Get the full tutorial from In Habitat.

6. Pinecone Feeders

I think this is one of my favorite homemade bird feeders so far just because of the beautiful, natural look. These pinecone feeders almost look like DIY Christmas ornament or something! Perfect for hanging on the trees outside.

Get the full tutorial from One Little Project.

7. Birdseed Ornaments

Speaking of ornaments, I found these DIY birdseed ornaments right after finding the project above. You could make several of these and hang them around the yard near Christmas time!

Get the full tutorial from One Little Project.

8. Orange Bird Feeder

This craft uses macrame knotting techniques which may look a bit complicated at first, but they’re pretty simple to follow and still kid-friendly! The finished bird feeder is really cool looking too.

Get the full tutorial from Blue Corduroy.

9. Mason Jar Bird Feeder

While this one looks complicated at first, it’s actually extremely easy. All you need is a mason jar, a vintage metal pot lid, a baby chicken feeder, some glue, and a hanging hook.

With the lid on top of the feeder, the food (and the birds) are protected from the rain, and the mason jar design makes this feeder super easy to refill. Love it!

Get the full tutorial from My Turn For Us.

10. Birdseed Bells

These birdseed bells use a similar technique to the birdseed ornaments above. You’ll just need a small clay flowerpot to use as the mold!

Get the full tutorial from The Make Your Own Zone.

11. Simple Modern Bird Feeder

This is another macrame project that may look a bit complicated at first, but it’s pretty easy to follow. The end result looks really pretty too, perfect for hanging over the porch or somewhere else where the feeder is easily visible.

Get the full tutorial from Delia Creates.

12. Hanging Teacup Feeder

This gives me Alice in Wonderland vibes! So cool! If you’re going for something a bit more vintage and unique I think this is the craft to go with. It’s surprisingly easy too.

Get the full tutorial from Mum in the Mad House.

13. Canning Lid Bird Feeder

Here’s another really simple homemade bird feeder that the kids will have a lot of fun with. You can get a bit crafty with these too – the blogger who came up with the idea put a little cheerio smiley face on hers.

Get the full tutorial from I Should Be Mopping the Floor.

14. Bird Garland

Here’s a super unique idea! If you can’t tell from the photo above, it’s a bird feeder garland made with popcorn and cranberries. Those aren’t the only things you can string along though, you can try all sorts of kitchen scraps (there are more ideas in the full tutorial).

Get the full tutorial from The Spruce.

15. Pipe Cleaner Cheerio Bird Feeder

This idea kind of reminds me of a candy necklace, except for birds. It’s such an easy DIY too, even toddlers could help string cheerios onto pipe cleaners.

Get the full tutorial from Happy Hooligans.

16. Milk Carton Bird Feeder

If you have an empty half-gallon milk carton lying around, you can make a pretty cool little bird feeder from it! This idea is great for kids as it gives them a lot of creative control. They can put their own decorations and paint on the outside of the bird feeder to make something fun and colorful.

Get the full tutorial from Parents.com.

More Advanced Homemade Bird Feeders

While you can still make the DIY bird feeders below with your kids, just know that they’re a bit more complicated than the ones above. They’re totally worth the effort though!

17. Wine Bottle Bird Feeder

You’ll need to do some woodworking to put this project together but in the end, it shouldn’t take too long. The finished result is really nice too, and you can make it any color you want. Hang it on a fence or tree and let the birds have at it!

Get the full tutorial from Down Home Inspiration.

18. Swing Bench Bird Feeder

This idea is so cute! I can just imagine how adorable it is seeing a little bird swing on this feeder while eating. It also makes for a great bit of backyard decor.

Get the full tutorial from Instructables.

19. Glass Bottle Bird Feeders

These have to be the prettiest upcycled DIY bird feeders I’ve ever seen. From the cool colored glass bottles to the wire wrapping and the additional ornament, they look like something you’d buy at a professional garden center!

Get the full tutorial from Rebeccas Bird Gardens.

20. Log Bird Feeder

This one will require some handiness and power tools, but it’s easier than it looks. You basically just hollow out some holes into a log and stick bird feed into them! This type of feeder will attract tree clinging birds.

Get the full tutorial from Pretty Handy Girl.

Go Feed Some Birds!

I absolutely love the idea of making DIY bird feeders. Not only do they let you do some hands-on crafting, but after that, you get to reap the reward of being able to watch birds eat from them! Enjoy the process 🙂

Let me know: Which of the homemade bird feeders above are you going to attempt to create? 

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