With the Kids

Camp Craft: Peanut Butter Bird Feeders

I have been loving the Summer Camp Crafts week over at Impress Your Kids. There are so many fun and creative ideas for summer camp. Today, Amanda is showing how to make a God’s Eye craft that doubles as a memory holder. And I’m joining the fun and sharing a craft I have done once before, but is just too perfect for camp that I need to share it again! Peanut Butter Bird Feeders are an easy craft that would be great for camp, both young and old. Most of these supplies and pretty common. Just need to buy some bird feeder and find pinecones from your yard. Read on for the instructions.

Camp Craft: Peanut Butter Bird Feeders

Camp Craft: Peanut Butter Bird Feeders

Supplies for Pine Cone Bird Feeder:

  • pine cones
  • peanut butter
  • bird seed
  • string or yarn
  • something to hang it from- a tree, your porch, a fence, etc.

Bird Feeder Supplies

  1. Start with a nature hike to find your pine cones! Any size pinecone will work. Make sure to get pinecones that have most of their scales. This will help hold more peanut butter and seeds.
  2. Spread the peanut butter onto the pine cone. Make sure to get it in between the scales.
  3. Roll the pinecone around in bird seeds to cover the peanut butter.
  4. Tie a tight string at the top of the pine cone. This will help the bird feeder to not fall off the tree branch.
  5. Now hang it from a tree. Pick a tree in your yard that you think birds will frequent the most. You could also hang in off a porch or a fence.

Hopefully soon the birds will start munching! You and your kids will love watching the birds enjoying their snack that you made for them. This craft is so easy and fun to make.

Hang a Bird Feeder



  1. Pretzels rolled in peanut butter or any other substitute that was mentioned above then rolled in bird seed is an option if you don’t have access to pinecones. (This is in our preschool curriculum.)

  2. F.Y.I. I used to work for the U.S. Forest Service in Wisconsin. I would make these feeders with kids at campgrounds. Our Wildlife tech. told me that just using just peanut butter with nothing else but birdseed can kill the birds. Their beaks will stick together. Please add something like lard, shortening, bacon drippings.

  3. Peanut butter is not bad for birds. Check out Bird Watchers Digest, Massachusetts Audubon Society, and other sites. Of course natural (no salt, sugar) is best. Especially with the seed imbedded. Mix it with a little Corn meal or cracked corn if you don;t want to buy bird seed–make it a little crunchier. Go for it!

  4. Susan – That’s a great idea! I’m sure that would be a quicker. I wouldn’t microwave it for too long, peanut butter, you just would want it soft.

    Have fun!

  5. Any comments on partially softening the peanut butter in the microwave and dipping or rolling the pinecones in it? I have many to make and would like to find a way that is a little quicker.

  6. Sara – Thanks for letting me know your findings. You can always use hardened fat (from bacon) with bird seed, spreading that around the pine cones.

  7. Sara, perhaps it is the thick consistency of the peanut butter that harms them. It’s always advised that you don’t give peanut butter (or other sticky, gummy foods) to over-eager eaters.

    Perhaps if you used all-natural peanut butter (the plain kind, which is basically just pulverized peanuts) that is watered down slightly.

    It’s too bad that peanut butter is bad for birds… it’s such a cute project!

  8. Not to rain on your parade… but peanut butter kills birds. Thats what I’ve heard recently and don’t get me wrong, I uses to make these bird feeders until I was going to make one with my preschool class then my boss informed me that peanut butter kills birds. Something to look into?

  9. Brandi – I’ve seen people use a lot of things for this, a pine cone is just there to look woodsy! You could use a bagel, paper cup, plastic bottle, milk jug. Really anything that can be hung and will hold peanut butter and seeds.

  10. My son also has a peanut/tree nut allergy and we used a stick of Crisco when his class made these at school and it worked terrific. Actually, most of his classmates wanted to use Crisco instead of peanut butter, so it was a fun project for him to be different for once! Another great idea for a bird feeder is taking an old milk jug and cutting out both sides so the birds can get in and then filling the bottom with birdseed. You can attach string through the top to tie to a tree or your deck.

  11. Any suggestions for those with peanut allergies? I was trying to think of a substitute for peanut butter that wouldn’t break the bank.

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