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This Place is for the Birds At-a-Glance
Brief Summary:	Create your own Birdfeeders!!!
Audience:	Early Childhood Ages 5-7 Ages 8-10 Ages 11-13 Ages 14-17 (High School) Family/Community Seniors
Facility:	Community Center Outdoors (Camp) Outdoors (Park/Wilderness) Outdoors (Urban/Suburban) Religious/Day School Synagogue Other
Program Type:	Arts/Drama Educational Program Game/Hike/Outdoor Activity
Issues:	Baal Tashchit/Waste/Recycling Tikkun Olam/Stewardship/Values and Ethics
Holiday:	Tu B'Shevat (New Year of the Trees)
Description
Putting out bird feeders for wild birds is a simple but important action and one that can be done even if you only have a balcony or patio. You can have fun while participating in efforts to keep track of wild birding sightings by observing which birds come to your feeder. Join the 12,000 participants across the United States and Canada who record the number of birds and species sighted at feeders as part of Project Feeder Watch. a national research project at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. To find out more call 1-800-843-BIRD. Birdfeeders can be made in many different ways. Pinecone feeders, Milk carton Feeders are two examples. You can be completely creative. Pine Cone Bird Feeders: You will need: pine cones--long ones work best, but any kind will do peanut butter--the cheapest sugarless kind you can find--many natural food stores allow you to buy it in bulk, so you can buy as much or as little as you want. Figure that you will be able to make approximately 10 pine cone bird feeders per pound of peanut butter. popsicle or craft sticks or tongue depressors bird seed--the least expensive kind you can find cookie sheet or a pie plate to hold the seed heavy string, twine or yam wax paper or wax paper bags What to do: Apply the peanut butter to the pine cones with the craft sticks, pressing it into all the nooks and crannies. Expect that fingers will be licked and some peanut butter will be eaten. Just remind the children that this snack is really for the birds! Roll the peanut butter-covered pine cones in the pan of bird seed. The bird seed will stick to the peanut butter. Gently shake off the excess. Tie the string or yam tightly around the base or top of each pine cone. Perhaps the children could make two--one for school and one for home. This way you will have a supply to use at school and the children will be able to see how they attract the birds. Then the children will bring them home enthusiastically! Send them home in wax paper or a wax paper sandwich bags. They are a lot less sticky than plastic (besides being more environmentally friendly). Milk carton Feeders: Take an empty milk carton, make sure you have rinsed all of the mild out of the carton. Tie a string to the top end. At the bottom end on a side, cut what looks like a door out of the side. Fill the milk carton with birdseed and hang from a tree.   Materials Needed Pinecones peanut butter birdseed, string spreading utensile Empty milk carton scissors birdseed string   Benchmarks Jewish concepts and facts regarding birds. Make note of the fact that you are reusing resources, or natural resources to create the birdfeeders you are making.   Resources Facts about birds, and pictures of different kids of birds that frequent your area. Judaic facts about birds, there are many and they are not hard to find. Search on the internet in Google and you will find what you are looking for. Or contact COEJL.   Preparation Time A half an hour is needed to gather all your materials and set up.   Activity Time Half and hour to an hour, depending on you   Attached Files   Comments Add a new comment Read comments This program added on 2002-12-30. Programs placed on the Jewish Environmental Educator's Program Bank are solely the property of the program submitter. COEJL has no right or interest in the posted programs and is making no representations or warranties concerning same. All inquiries concerning programs should be forwarded directly to the program submitter.

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