If you’ve spent any time visiting me, you know I have a deep and abiding love of birds. . .♥
We keep our feeders filled year-round, but it’s especially important in the winter months, when there is snow on the ground and a great way to brighten a dreary winter day!
We had a run on seed last weekend during the snow. . .
And we have the fattest and most well fed squirrels in the neighborhood :)
I had a little snowy day tabletop fun last year feeding the birds. . .
The guests of honor at my table can be seen here:
Snowy Day Table for the Birds
Feeding the birds can be a fun snowy day activity and project to do with the kids!
Feeding Our Feathered Friends
Make your own Bird Seed Wreath Feeder using a Bundt pan, directions here.
You can use the same method to make bird seed treats using cookie cutters as molds. You can find the details, here.
And you can create a Gingerbread House Bird Feeder, using a ready-made kit and a combination of seed, crackers, nuts or dried fruit. Set it outside and wait for your feathered friends to enjoy their edible house and treat! Details, here.
Pine cones make an easy winter feeder for birds with a mixture of cornmeal, peanut butter and seed. Tie some twine around the pine cone before you coat it in your peanut butter/seed mixture for easy hanging on trees. . .or a rake :)
The winner of my Winter Nesting Giveaway is Nancy Brantley!
Nancy, I’ll be in touch with you by email and get your gift card to you.
Thanks to all who entered!
Thank you for your visit!
Hi Mary, What beautiful photographs. I especially love the pics that have cardinals in. I live in England so have never seen one except in photos. Such a beautiful colour. Our robins are very different to yours they are a small bird over here. They look so sweet & Christmassy but apparently are very aggressive- you rarely see two together. Thanks for your great ideas. I have made feeders with fat & seed before- peanut butter seems such a better idea!
I’m sure the birds all know where to go for a good bite to eat Mary! Very cool that you made the big seed heart without showing any footprints in the snow:@) Congrats to your winner!
Our squirrels are menaces, too. We usually use the cardinal seed mix, but a couple of weeks ago my husband refilled our feeders with something else, and the birds wouldn’t eat it, and neither would the squirrels!
We used to make pinecone feeders all the time when the girls were little. Happy memories!
I love your photos of the birds feeding in the snow. So pretty!
Love all your clever and creative bird feeding ideas. I also enjoy watching my feathered friends by my feeders. So many new ideas I learned from you today!
Mary, I always scatter seed in the snow but next time I will try to make this beautiful heart! I love it! I don’t know how to avoid footsteps~~maybe a broom will help. And your photo of the blue jay with the seed in his beak is perfect. I have been clicking through all your great bird feeder posts and getting more ideas. Our squirrels are so aggressive that I think they might just carry off an entire bundt wreath or orange half but I’m going to try. Right now there is a gigantic hawk sitting on the bird feeder tree so I am going to chase him away! I love feeding the birds, but not him! Linda
Love the birdseed ♥, Mary….very cute! The bundt pan one is very ingenious, too. But it is the PHOTOS that take my breath away….especially that last one. Just beautiful. Cardinals are not only Ohio’s state bird but Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia, too.
You certainly have happy, well-fed birdies at your home, Mary, and you feed them with such style! Your giant seed heart in the snow is so pretty! Of course, the bundt pan, the cookie cutters, the gingerbread house and the pinecones all make for such lovely birdie treats. For all your love for the birds, they provide you with such natural beauty right out your windows. Thanks for all the gorgeous photos of nature, and happy weekend to you!
Winter is beautiful and serene and the birds are welcome visitors. Many months we spend more on quality bird seed than we do on food for ourselves :). You are so creative and inspirational.
Birds must flock to your bird seed haven Mary, and they obviously repay you for their creative treats by posing for your incredible photos! The seed heart actually made my heart smile, seeing that beautiful bird enjoying his snack. The cardinals are my favorite, so dramatic in the snowy scenes~ and Oh those pesky squirrels, what a mess they can make! I hope they stay off your bench and let the birds nibble on the bundt wreath and enjoy the bird bath buffet…Congrats to Nancy~
Jenna
Congratulations to the winner!
Love your unique ways of feeding the birds! So Beautiful and clever!
Thank You for sharing your bird suet recipes!
Sandi
These are some of the most beautiful and creative ideas I’ve ever seen. Just so pretty!
Congratulations Nancy!!! Have fun with your gift card!! Thanks Mary for bird feeding ideas!! We keep our feeders full too..we don’t have squirrels but we have chipmunks. I’d rather have the squirrels!! Up into the 50s here this coming week…therefore, no snowbird watching here just plain watching. Have a great weekend!! 😍😍😍
Oh, hi, Ellen! I’m Carolyn, just another follower but puzzled by your comment about chipmunks. We used to have them till we got a dog. He has since gone to doggie heaven & I was wishing the chipmunks would come back. Both they, & the squirrels have unearthed potted plants around here though. Is that why you don’t care for them?
Carolyn, those little devils can unearth the earth..they have, in past summers, burroughed under our screened in porch and dug out the gravel, sand and anything else that was under it..they have dug my front planter all the way to the bottom and brought up the gravel at the bottom of it.. They started digging in the side of our cement patio and if they had been successful, our patio would have sunk on one side.. One of our neighbors had tried for an entire summer to rid their yard of them but not before they dug under their front porch so much that it finally collapsed and they had to installed a new porch. They are not an endangered species..therefore, many have left this earth with all our neighbors help..we live in the country and they just seem to multiply ten fold out here. I wish I could tell them to come back to your house..oh, they also eat my bulbs..now you know why I don’t care for them.. They are very destructive!!
Such beautiful photos of the birds! I love your creative ways to feed the birds as well. I also am plaqued with squirels, which the birds and I have reluctantly agreed to share the seeds with. HOWEVER, what just burns my biscuits are the greedy, distructive, theiving raccoons! The past couple of years the raccoons have not only gorged themselves with copious amounts of seed, they are also known to take off with the entire birdfeeder….even when I attached them with wire. It is so exasperating! I love feeding the birds and watching their antics but those raccoons are just too much! What is crazy is that my next door neighbor has been feeding raccoons on her back deck the past couple of years and she now has a total of 9 raccoons dining every evening. You would think they would stay over there and eat her goodies and leave my seed alone! My neightbor goes to the day old rack at the grocery and stocks up on goodies for her raccoon brood! I love my neighbor as she has the biggest heart but I wish she’d not encourange raccoons! OK, I’m done spouting off on raccoons. Have an awesome weekend, Mary! Congrats to Nancy!
These are awesome and congrats nancy !
oh my gosh Mary is so cute and you know I love to feed my little friends too but unfortunately my dogs always seem to get into our stuff, they would have been out there looking the snow! I would love for you to join my flea market Friday party when you can…. xxx…
Thanks for brining a smile to my face this morning with your beautiful photos. I love watching the birds! Your bird seed heart made me saw awww out loud.
Such a lovely post — you are so very clever and the little birds must love you right back! Thank you for sharing these beautiful images. The cardinal is just stunning!
Lovely photos, and wonderful ideas for feeding your birds. I made some suet cakes this year and put them out during the really cold days with snow and ice. The birds had a great time. I have my feeder on a tall pole, with a tubular squirrel baffle below it, works beautifully to keep the little raiders off the feeder.
I share your love for birds… They were so happy in the snow each time I filled up the feeders… And they were so much fun to watch!! Love your table and the beautiful pics!!
I purposely saved one of those gingerbread kits so I can make a bird seed house like yours. I love taking care of our winter birds. And it makes me so happy to see them flying from tree to tree in my yard when the sun is out.
I had robins, cardinals and finches all sweep in at the same time this morning. Your birds are beautiful and I see why they love your yard so much. Delicious treats for them and they are so pretty too.
I don’t know how you have time to do so much!
So enjoyable to view all the loveliness as I drink my hot tea this afternoon, Mary! I have a lot of cardinals visit during the winter…my husband plants winter rye grass and their bright red color against the green is breathtaking! Have a wonderful weekend! Pam @ Everyday Living
Mary, you can see how much joy you have brought yet again with your sweet creative posts! Blessings on you!
Love your posts on the birds and the creative ways you can feed them especially the hearts. Cardinals are my favorite with their bright red color. Most of the snow our area got has melted and with temperatures this weekend in the 50’s and early next week in the 60’s, it should all melt away since the weather forecasters are calling for rain on Wednesday. May you have a wonderful weekend.
~Mary~
Beautiful photos !! the picture with the squirrel and the bird flying away , wow good eye you have !!
Thanks for sharing all the ways to feed them, I bet they love stopping by for a few seeds to enjoy !
Enjoy your weekend !!
Paula
Now I know what to do with the gingerbread house kit I bought on clearance! I don’t have to worry about the squirrels as much as deer. I had to install a pulley system to get the feeders out of their reach. I have started feeding them along the edge of the woods too. Beautiful photos as always.
I need to know what the title of that book, with the birds in it. I had noticed it in a prior blog entry.
So many beautiful ideas!
Absolutely beautiful! Being in Arizona now… our birds are somewhat brown and tan in color. BUT we do get very excited when a cardinal shows up or a red headed woodpecker. But we do love our quail and we have an abundance! We also have Great Horned Owls in the evening and wee hours of the morning.
These photos are magnificent!
Congratulations Miss Nancy!
I can not believe that I am the winner. Lucky me! Thank you Mary! I love your Blog and everything you post especially the Potting Shed. Those birds know exactly where to go for fine dining!!!!! Not just fed but served with Beautiful dishes that you make them. If you don’t want the squirrels causing the birds to fly away at the feeder I found out a few years ago to use Safflower Seeds. Squirrels do not like these seeds, once they get a taste they will not be back. I buy my Safflower Seeds at my local Walmart. I hope this works for you and your readers if the squirrels are annoying.
Again thanks for the gift.
I can just imagine what your yard looks like in the winter months with the gorgeous birds of their magnificent colors against the snowy backgrounds of the grounds and trees…..the birds certainly know where to go to receive a gourmet meal….Congrats to Nancy!!!…Have a great weekend Mary!
I smiled my way through all your photos!
Love the pictures – love the birds. Last summer we purchased a bird feeder called Squirrel Stopper and it really works. You can buy it from that site and Amazon carries it as well. Around $200.00 but it really is worth it. There are several arms that come off of the main pole so you can hang at least 5 different feeders and at the base of the pole is a large baffle that WILL NOT allow squirrels to climb up. They just can’t make it up around the baffle as it moves and does not allow them to gain upward motion. Now the squirrels have to eat the leftovers on the ground – haha. My brother first purchased it and then my sister and then I did and none of us are disappointed. The only catch is that it does recommend installing it away from any tree by 10 feet, but it works. Check it out Mary and let me know what you think. :)
P.S. I just visited the Squirrel Stopper site again and you can hang 8 different feeders and they offer it in white now, mine is black. On the top of the feeder is a pretty bird ornament and it is only $149.99 and free shipping – well worth it. Really love this product, I know you will too if you order it. (I don’t get any compensation – just a very happy customer.)
I love all your bird feeding ideas and the feasts you prepare for them. They must love your home! Gorgeous pictures. I am joining you from Inspire Me Tuesday.
I don’t feed the birds as my yard would be filled with sea gulls! I have 5 trees still loaded with berries for them though!
I love this post! Love all the ideas about how to make bird treats!
This is such a beautiful post! We love feeding the birds here at our house. There’s nothing like looking out on a snowy day at a bunch of cardinals feeding in a flock. You’ve really inspired me to make a bird seed wreath..haven’t done that in a few years. :)
Do you have a source for you white confetti goblets on the table?
I found them at Kohl’s several years ago.