How to Make a Suet Bird Feeder
Learn how to make a suet bird feeder at home to take care of the birds! They’ll love being able to have a snack and the kids will love being able to create one, too!
If you enjoyed this bird activity, see this list of fun animal activities for kids.
If you are doing a bird study in your homeschool, making a bird feeder is a great hands-on activity to do with your kids. It gives you a great opportunity to talk about what birds need to survive, and the different types of food each bird eats, and teaches children to care for creatures, especially during the slimmer times of fall and winter.
We’ve been making this specific bird feeder for years and it’s almost like the birds have actually come to expect it now! And that’s okay, we love to spoil them and give them what they need to stay healthy and strong.
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Is suet better than birdseed?
A suet bird feeder allows birds to peck on a suet. It is a mixture of fats mixed with nuts, fruits, and seeds which offers a high-energy diet for birds.
During winter, birds find it hard to look for food. They need foods that are high in energy for them to survive cold months. By having a bird feeder outside our homes, in our own little ways, we can help the birds have something to eat.
So which is better, a suet or birdseed? Birdseeds can easily fall off the ground and may only attract a few kinds of birds. While suet, on the other hand, attracts diverse types of birds and is easy to maintain and less messy.
So if you want to see more kinds of birds, building a suet bird feeder is a way to go! You and your kids get to watch the birds up close without having to disturb them. Observe their behavior and how often they visit. Who knows, you might even encounter a rare species!
Recommended Books about Birds
Don’t forget to pair up more fun reading with your bird craft and activity as well. These are some of our favorite books about bird studies for kids.
Below are some guides for bird watching, lists of backyard birds, and a bird sticker book to put in your child’s journal to keep track of the birds that visit your suet feeder.
Backpack Explorer: Bird Watch: What Will You Find?Bird Watch Book for Kids: Introduction to Bird Watching, Colorful Guide to 25 Popular Backyard Birds, and Journal PagesA Backyard Birding Adventure: What’s in Your Yard?Ultimate Sticker Book: North American Birds: Over 60 Reusable Full-Color StickersChildren’s Encyclopedia of Birds (Arcturus Children’s Reference Library, 9)National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Birds (National Geographic Little Kids First Big Books)
Suet Bird Feeder Supplies
- Lard or bacon grease
- Natural peanut butter
- Cornmeal
- Dried fruit (raisins or craisins)
- Songbird food
- Aluminum foil
- Suet basket
How to Make a Suet Bird Feeder
Since this is such an easy project to do, it’s fun to actually make a few and give to your neighbors or family members, too.
You can even hang one at the local park if you’re able to help feed the birds more that way!
This suet block feeder is easy to make and provides your backyard feathered friends with the nutrients they need. You can make yours in a mold, or a paper cup, or create a mold in the suet basket like I did.
This recipe makes enough to fill two standard suet baskets and has a lot of ingredient variety that will attract a wide range of birds to your yard.
Use the bird feeder as a way to identify what bird species visit your yard – woodpeckers, chickadees, blue jays, cardinals, and more are likely to be seen.
Sketch them as new birds appear, make a chart to keep track of them, or teach your child some simple nature photography skills.
Hang this in your backyard and watch it to see what type of birds visit you. You just might be surprised at the types of birds that you have in your area.
This would then open up a lot more conversation with the kids about the various types of birds and how they live, etc.
More Bird Activities
- DIY Peanut Butter Bird Feeder
- Bird Notebooking Pages
- Life Cycle of a Bird Worksheet
- Bird Activities for Preschoolers by Homeschool Preschool
- Spring Bird Craft For Kids by Simple Everyday Mom
How to Make a Suet Bird Feeder
This is a fun and easy bird activity for the kids!
Materials
- ½ cup lard or bacon grease
- ½ cup natural peanut butter
- 1 cup cornmeal
- ¼ cup dried fruit- raisins or craisins
- 1 ½ cups songbird food
- Aluminum foil
- Suet basket
Instructions
- If you are using the suet basket you can easily make a mold to create a square suet block that fits perfectly inside. Line the inside of the basket with aluminum foil, double the layer (make sure it doesn't leak through), and set aside while you prepare the filling.
- Melt lard and peanut butter over medium heat in a small saucepan.
- Remove from heat and stir in cornmeal, birdseed, and dried fruit.
- Pour quickly into your “mold”, you can also use small paper cups, a squat wide-mouth mason jar, or a mini bundt/doughnut pan to create a ring that you can hang on a string.
- Pop your suet block into the freezer until it is solidified.
- Remove from freezer, peel off aluminum foil, and place block inside the basket.
- Hang in a shady spot after the cool weather hits, summer temps will melt your block.
Recommended Products
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What birds do your kid would like to spot? Find out the species of birds that are flying within your area.
They will surely love and appreciate finding a suet feeder outside your home.