Make a house for your feathered friends

#Middlebury

Not all birds fly south for the winter! Identify the feathered friends that frequent your neighborhood and then make a birdhouse with your family using simple supplies such as a cardboard milk carton and nature finds. When it’s done, it’s so rewarding to look out a window on a winter’s day and see a bird or two perched on the birdhouse your family has made together.

You and your kids will love crafting this fanciful birdhouse because it offers so many possibilities without a saw, hammer or woodworking equipment. Here’s how to create one in four easy steps:

1. 

   Get creative making a bird house for your feathered friends.

   Rinse out and dry a half-gallon juice or milk carton. Staple the carton shut along the top. An adult may cut out a circle about 1-1/2 inches in diameter on one of the side panels of the carton, 3 inches above the base of the carton.

2. For a perch for the birds, poke a small hole below the large hole. Poke a matching hole in the opposite side of the carton, then insert a 6-inch-long wooden dowel or smooth sturdy stick through both small holes.
3. It’s time to decorate! Using a low-temperature glue gun or just regular household glue and a brush, start applying twigs, pieces of bark, dried pods, leaves, etc., wherever your imagination says they belong. You might add a few plastic trinkets or an old silk flower or two if the space seems right.
4. Punch a hole in the top of the house. Loop a piece of wire or twine through the hole and hang the house from a tree branch or a fence post. You’re done! Watch as birds discover the new abode.

“The grandkids are coming!” tip: Young grandchildren might enjoy making a treat for the birds. Take a pine cone, roll it around in peanut butter until it’s completely covered, then roll it once more in birdseed. Tie a string around it and hang it from a tree branch.

Donna Erickson’s award-winning series “Donna’s Day” is airing on public television nationwide. To find more of her creative family recipes and activities, visit www.donnasday.com and link to the NEW Donna’s Day Facebook fan page. Her latest book is “Donna Erickson’s Fabulous Funstuff for Families.”

© 2019 Donna Erickson
Distributed by King Features Synd.