How to Make Pumpkin Bird Feeders
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Are you looking for a fun way to use your fall pumpkins when the season is done? How about making pumpkin bird feeders? They’re easy to make, sustainable, and are completely edible for birds and furry friends alike!
I always feel bad when it’s time for Fall decor to be put away, especially the beautiful fantasy pumpkins I buy for our front porch! These heirloom pumpkins have the most gorgeous colors and unique shapes. Creating a bird feeder out of them is a great way to keep their beauty alive and give them a new purpose.
Every year I’m reminded how much I love Fall. It’s full of gorgeous color and is a reminder to love your home and get cozy! Here are a few other posts that you might enjoy!
How to Make Pumpkin Bird Feeders
Making bird feeders out of pumpkins couldn’t be easier. It’s basically like carving a pumpkin, but with even fewer steps! Of course, this also means that the process can be a little messy, so feel free to make them outside if you’d rather. I set up shop at our farmhouse table, since it’s easy to clean.
Assembling Pumpkin Bird Feeders
Supplies:
Pumpkins:: You already have the pumpkins for this project, but if you don’t I think most stores still have them! I bought mine at TRADER JOE’S—they have a pretty good supply of the heirloom fantasy pumpkins.
Towel: I set my pumpkin on a towel on the table because it helped it not to slide around while I was cutting the top. It also made it easy to turn in a circle, making cutting easier.
Knives: I started this project with a bigger knife, but ended up using a paring knife to make smaller cuts. Then, I used a butter knife to help remove the pieces of the pumpkin I had cut. I wish I’d had this pumpkin carving set from Magnolia!
Spoon: You can honestly just use your hands to scoop the insides out of the pumpkin, but a spoon does make it a little easier. If you want this to be a fully sustainable project, you can set the insides out for the wildlife to eat too. If not, you can easily dispose of them in the trash.
Bird Seed: Any bird seed will work…you could even use cracked corn!
Directions:
I don’t even feel like I can be serious about writing out directions for this project. You literally just cut the top off, scoop out the insides, and pour some bird seed inside! I just set mine out in our landscaping on our birdbath, because we don’t have any trees with branches large enough to support the large pumpkins.
If you have bigger, more established trees, you can use twine to hang the pumpkins from a shepherds hook. To do that, you would cut 3 pieces of twine the same link, running it along the pumpkin’s indentations and tying them together in a loop at the top.
Enjoying Pumpkin Bird Feeders
I love the idea of making a few of the pumpkin bird feeders to set around the yard. We don’t have a lot of established trees in our yard, but we do have larger bushes and a few arborvitae…which several birds seem to live in.
Also, since we don’t have a lot of trees, we don’t have many squirrels. Most people would probably be happy about that, since they tend to eat pumpkins when they’re out for decoration, but I wish we had them! They’re so cute and I think it would be fun to create these little feeders knowing they’d get to enjoy them too.
Whether you’re going to hang the pumpkins or just set them out, you will love doing this project. I love extending the life of the beautiful fantasy pumpkins and knowing that every bit of them is going to be used.
One word of caution for this project…
If you’re someone who uses any sort of a chemical to treat the pumpkins to prevent them from being eaten (I’ve heard of some people using floor cleaner or wax), please don’t make bird feeders out of them. This would be toxic to the birds and that makes me sad to think about. Perhaps buy new pumpkins just for this project if you really want to make them!
If you decide to make a pumpkin bird feeder, I would love to see them! Share a picture of them in your Instagram stories and tag me when you do! You can find me on Instagram at @hilaryprall.
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