I’m re-sharing this homemade birdfeeder in a mug tonight because it feels like a good time to remind people that our little feathered friends might need a bit of help at this time of year.
Before I share it again though, I’m going to tell you why I was reminded of it earlier today and maybe one of you lovely people can give me some tree advice. 😁
So, I have a tree outside my bedroom window which I’ve always thought was a Rowan tree due to its bright orange berries and over the last few weeks, it’s been the streets most happening meeting place for birds judging by the number of birds that have gathered there every evening.
The birds have pretty much stripped the tree bare of the berries and tonight when I looked out of my window, I saw a solitary blue tit just sitting there looking sad because we’re all out of berries.
That’s what made me think of this post from a couple of years ago so I dusted it off to share with you again in the hope that we could all make our homemade bird feeder in a mug to cheer up all the sad hungry blue tits in the world. But then I did some searching online for Rowan trees to see if I could find a photo of a blue tit sitting in one to share with you (I know, sad or what?) and I discovered that birds really don’t like Rowan berries.
So either my tree isn’t a Rowan tree or birds around here like bitter-tasting berries?
Anyway, now I’ve explained why I was reminded about sharing this post with you again, I’ll actually get around to resharing it – here’s how to make a homemade birdfeeder in a mug!
At this time of year, our little feathered friends could do with a bit of help from us (actually they’d be glad of the help year-round but this time of the year especially) so we decided to make our own thrifty homemade bird feeder using a couple of aluminium mugs that we have in the cupboard and some twigs we collected when we were walking the dog.
The only ingredients are bird food (ours was £1.50 for a big bag) and some suet.
The ratio for this is 1 part suet to 2 parts birdseed so we used the full pack of suet (185g) and then 370g of bird food.
Just melt the suet over a low heat and then pour over the bird food.
Give it a good mix so all of the bird food is coated in the suet mix.
Next, put the mix in your mug and pack it down tightly.
Pop a twig in the mug for the birds to use as a perch while they’re eating and leave it in the fridge to set for a while.
Tie some string around the handle of the mug and attach your cute little homemade bird feeder to wherever it’s going. Make sure the string is quite short though as you don’t want it waving about all over the place.
Now you just need to sit back and wait for the birds to come. 😉
Just a quick note on this type of homemade bird feeder- don’t use them in the warmer months as the Suet can melt and coat the feathers which makes it hard for them to fly.
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G.L. says
Cute! Your tree looks similar to my Mountain Hawthorne in the states.
Gabriella says
How about giving it as a gift kit for Xmas?
Lyndsey ward says
The birds love it even the blackbirds kee having a go.
Cassandra says
Ah, that’s lovely x x
Birdy says
Can someone please tell me what suet is
Sally says
It’s a kind of fat traditionally used for making dumplings and Christmas mincemeat for mince pies (UK)
Evonne says
add Cayenne pepper to deter squirls….its ok for birds
Jamie says
Yay! This project looks so cute. I'd like to have my own bird feeder!!!
My Little Babog Blog says
Oh my, this is quite possibly the cutest bird feeder I have ever seen. Can't believe it was so easier either. Must do it with the kids!
stephbaybee says
Such a simple idea, but really effective!! I am off to Pin this for future reference
Colette B says
Oh this looks so cool – my Grandad always had an array of bird feeders around the garden and being someone of the "make do and mend" mentality this would have been right up his street!
Keri-Anne says
Oh wow, what a wonderful thing to do and i love the little stock for them to land on 🙂
Double the Monkey Business says
What a fabulous idea and it looks great too, I need to try this and the kids would love to watch the birds in our garden x
Rebecca says
This is such a good idea and so simple too! I will definitely be having a go with my daughter, she loves feeding the birds in our garden x
MoneyAhoy says
That looks so cool and not all that difficult to make. Our kids would love this! I can see how the squirrels would be in heaven with something like this though :-).