Make a Bagel Bird Feeder
Many birds, like swallows, migrate long distances in search of food and safe, warm places to lay their eggs and raise their young. Other birds, like owls, don't migrate; they stay in the same place all year long. By making and hanging bird feeders, you can help both migrating and non-migrating birds find the food they need.
Before You Play
Introduce the idea of migration to your child. Ask questions like, “Why might birds migrate away from cold places in the winter?” Explain that you and your child can help local birds find food with a bird feeder. If possible, take your child to the store with you to shop for any materials you need. Before making the feeder, ask your child to predict what the visiting birds will look like. Make this into a game by asking questions like, "Do you think penguins will come to the feeder? What about pigeons?" Talk together about why or why not.
Materials
Directions
Invite your child to help you lay out all the materials on a flat protected surface.
Ask her to pour or scoop some birdseed into the foil pan.
Help her to measure one half‐cup of shortening in the bowl and add an equal amount of peanut butter, if desired.
Mix well.
Invite her to use the spoon to spread the mixture on the bagels.
Once a bagel is covered with the shortening mixture, your child can roll it in the pan of birdseed, using the spoon to get as much birdseed on the bagel as possible.
Once this is done, you can help by tying the end of a two‐foot piece of string or yarn around the bagel.
Hang the bagel bird feeder near a tree or from one, if possible. Be sure to hang it high enough to avoid any cats or predators that may bother the birds. Pick a spot where you and your child will see it at different times during the day.
Remind your child that it may take some time for birds to discover the feeder. In the meantime, you and your child can observe birds anywhere you go. Spot birds by listening to the sounds they make.
Science