Abert’s Towhee enjoying sunflower seeds from a pumpkin bird feeder
Halloween has arrived and pumpkins can be seen everywhere – some carved into ghoulish faces or others left uncarved where their bright colors add great fall color.
But, what do you do with your pumpkin when Halloween is over? Do you throw them in the compost pile or trash bin?
What if you could get more use out of your pumpkin and benefit wildlife at the same time? Creating a bird feeder from pumpkins is a fun and easy backyard project and you most likely already have all you need to get started – a pumpkin!
Heirloom pumpkin
You can use a carved pumpkin or one that is uncarved. I used the heirloom pumpkin that had been decorating my home for the fall holidays to make my DIY pumpkin bird feeder.
1. Cut your pumpkin in half. If your pumpkin still has seeds inside, scoop them out and roast them OR save a few to plant pumpkins in your garden next year (I grew a pumpkin from last year’s heirloom pumpkin).
2. Carve four small trenches in which to rest perches for your feathered visitors. You can put in wooden dowels or small branches as perches.
3. Fill the pumpkin with bird seed and set out. I placed our pumpkin on an old tree stump so that I could more easily see it from the house. You could also use sturdy twine to hang it up – simply knot two lenghts of twine together in the middle and set the pumpkin on the knotted section and bring up the ends and hang from your favorite place.
Needless to say, it didn’t take long to attract visitors. A pair of Abert’s Towhees (Melozone aberti), who are mostly found in Arizona and who make their home in my garden, were the first visitors.
Now, pumpkin bird feeders won’t last forever, but I like the idea of getting more use out of my pumpkins before I throw them into my compost pile. How about you? Have you ever made a bird feeder out of a pumpkin? Maybe, this year will be your first time!
My fellow blogger, Jill, wrote a great blog post about little known facts about pumpkins and different ways to use them, which I encourage you to check out.
Tyra says
What a clever idea. We all wonder what to do with our old used pumpkins. Have been cutting & using dried seed for the birds, but this is a much more unique idea. Thanks for sharing.
creativeatmosphereforyou says
Thanks for great project. I appreciated your ideas which are really amazing. One should get inspired from your innovative thoughts. The architecture that have used in this backyard can give an appealing look to your home landscape. Thanks for sharing this.
Bev stellges says
Great idea but you cannot have any squirrels or chipmunks in your area. They will not only devour the seeds they will demolish the pumpkin!
Debra says
I live on an acre and the squirrels here would be dancing a jig if I would put one of these out for them! The poor birds would never have a chance. It is a really cute idea though.
Leslie says
After Halloween I have in previous years just put the pumpkins in my garden to rot down, or be eaten by whomever, and the local deer devoured every, and I do mean EVERY teeny tiny morsel of them. If I added seeds to them, they’d be gone before the first night was half over, since they also regularly empty any and all seed feeders they can get to around here. I do however love the idea of using the pumpkins as feeders, but I guess not right here. I was wondering if the birds would eat any of the pumpkin flesh along with their seeds, or are they not fond of pumpkin meat?
Sabine says
I had shared this because it looked nice, but a friend commented on it and he’s totally right: the way this works the birds basically sit over the food and it cannot be avoided that they leave their droppings which will then contaminate the food, resulting in infections spreading amongst the bird population. There is a reason why bird feeders are usually only approachable from below. I think it might be better to cut the pumpkin into big chunks and leave them for bigger animals like deer or foxes.
Charlene Williams says
I cut mine up and feed them to my chickens . They love it!