You will need:

• Pine cones, ideally medium to large ones to give more room for the birds to perch
• Lard or a vegetarian alternative
• Bird seed, prepared in a small tray or dish
• String, wool or garden twine
• Scissors
• A knife
• Kitchen roll or a paper towel
• Newspaper, a large tray or something to stop everything getting covered in lard
• Somewhere close by to wash your hands as you will get messy!

Step 1

Lay the newspaper onto the surface where you will be working and place all of the items you need close by. I used an old cereal box to cover where I was working. Whilst you have clean hands cut one piece of string per pine cone, about 30 cm long, for hanging your finished bird feeder up in a tree.

Step 2

Cover the pine cone in lard.  I find it easier to cut the lard into small chunks and slight warm it up in my hands before trying to spread it onto the pine cone (vegetarian alternatives are softer and easier to spread). You might want to wipe your hands with the kitchen roll or paper towel afterwards!

Step 3 

Roll the pine cone in the bird seed and press the seed into the lard so it sticks. If you can still see the lard make sure you cover that too by sprinkling the seed over it and pressing it in. Now go and wash your hands thoroughly!

Step 4

Tie the piece of string, wool or twine to the top of your pine cone with a double or triple knot. This might be a bit tricky so ask an adult to help. You might have to remove some of the seeds so you can get to the frond to tie the string around (you might find it easier to do this as part of Step 2, but be careful it doesn’t get in the way and get covered in lard).

Step 5

Take your pine cone feeder outside and find a good place to hang it, like a tree, a large shrub or a bird table. Now you just need to wait for the birds to come!