Last Christmas we visited a home
with a beautiful tree decorated with nuts and dried
fruit. The best thing about using this type of decoration
is that you can share your Christmas tree with the birds
and squirrels after the holiday. They'll appreciate the
midwinter treats when you put your tree out after
Christmas. All edible decorations should be hung with
biodegradable materials, such as cotton string or
thread.
Some birds, such as Brown Thrashers
and Northern Mockingbirds, will enjoy apples and oranges.
Cut the fruit slices horizontally, perpendicular to the
core or stem. Then dry them either in a food dehydrator
or in a warm oven. Hang them on the tree for a lovely,
natural decoration.
Strings of popcorn and cranberries are
a traditional favorite, for both humans and birds. Buy a
bag of fresh cranberries in the produce department of the
grocery store. With a needle and thread, string four or
five pieces of popcorn, then one cranberry for a colorful
red and white pattern. This is a good activity for
children and can be done while watching a Christmas video
or TV special.
Everyone knows that squirrels love
nuts. Buy mixed nuts in the shell for a variety of shapes
and textures. Use a drill to make a hole completely
through the nut. Then feed a string through the nut and
make a knot at the bottom. Hang individually on the tree
rather than stringing them, and later a squirrel can pull
them down one at a time to eat them.
Cut sections of corn on the cob also
make an interesting decoration for your tree, and will be
appreciated later by the squirrels. You can get dried
corn on the cob from a local farmer, at an farm store, or
at some hardware stores. Colorful Indian corn could also
be used. Cut the corn in one to two inch sections, drill
a hole, thread a string through, tie a knot, and hang.
After Christmas, leave all natural
decorations on the tree, whether you have a bagged balled
tree to plant or a live cut tree, and put it out for our
feathered and furry friends. If you use an artificial
tree, natural decorations can be hung outside on any tree
after you take the Christmas tree down.
There are some bird foods that either
won't keep indoors or don't look that good on your
Christmas Tree, but would still make a great treat for
the birds. These could be used to decorate a separate
"Wildlife Christmas Tree" outdoors, or they could be hung
on the Christmas tree when you take it out. Children love
to help make these Christmas presents for the birds and
animals.
One of these treats is bird seed pine
cones Make a mixture of peanut butter and cornmeal and
stuff it into a pine cone, then roll it in birdseed. You
can also make bird sandwiches. Use stale bread or dry out
slices of fresh bread in the oven. Spread peanut butter
on the bread and sprinkle with birdseed, then punch a
small hole in the bread to hang it. Bird pudding consists
of suet or peanut butter mixed with birdseed which is
hardened and hung out in a net bag.
Other foods can be strung to hang on
the tree. These include peanuts in the shell, raisins,
and sunflower seeds. Wild foods can be collected in
autumn to use; such as whole sunflowers, berries, rose
hips, hawthorn haws, and dried seed pods. The smaller
items can be placed in a net bag first.
Small bowls to hold birdseed can be
made from orange or grapefruit peels. Cut the fruit in
half and peel the flesh out to make the bowl. Punch four
holes around the edges and tie with string. After hanging
on the tree, fill with birdseed. Millet or bird seed can
also be sprinkled on the ground around the tree for
ground-feeding birds. The seeds that drop will nourish
these and other small creatures like field mice. If you
put corn out, you might even attract wild
turkey.
Shallow pans of fresh water will also
be appreciated by birds in winter. The water has to be
replaced often because it freezes. An old frying pan
works well for this, because any ice can be easily turned
out.
Making a wildlife Christmas tree is a
great family activity for the holiday season. You'll
spend many enjoyable hours watching the birds and
squirrels feast on your Christmas gifts to
them.