Feed the Birds With DIY Birdseed Owls

These Birdseed Owls are a hoot to make and a fun activity for a winter day! They come together quickly, just requiring time to set, 8 hours or overnight. Little hands will enjoy helping and hanging these bird seed treats to keep your feathered friends fed during the cold winter months. Use your creativity to embellish the owl faces and add details with other edibles, such as raw almonds, raisins, other seeds, etc.

The inspiration came from these Birdseed Owls I saw online at Gardener’s Supply Company.

I thought my silicone Owl Baking Mold from Sur La Table would work equally well to make birdseed owls as it did to make my Spiced Owl Cakelets with Maple Glaze! The mold is no longer available from Sur la Table but there is a similar owl mold available  on Amazon.

Here’s what you need to make Birdseed Owls:

•  1 envelope unflavored gelatin, such as  Knox
•  3/4 cup all purpose flour
•  1/2 cup hot water
•  3 tbsp. corn syrup
•  4 cups birdseed
•  Owl mold or cookie cutters
•  Nonstick Spray
• Twine and  greening / floral u-pins

Method:

1. Mix the gelatin packet with hot water until dissolved; stir in corn syrup.
2. In large bowl, mix flour with birdseed, then pour in gelatin mixture and thoroughly combine.
3. Spray your mold with nonstick spray and spoon seed mixture into your mold. Press seed mixture to pack down firmly with the back of a spoon or spatula to fill cavities.

I tied some garden twine to some  floral u-pins / greening pins  for hanging.

My u-pins were 1.75″ long to help support the weight of the seed mixture.

Press the u-pin tied with twine into back of seed mixture at an angle for hanging. Press the seed mixture again, making sure it’s firmly packed around the pin. Place your mold somewhere cold or in the refrigerator (I placed mine on the porch) to set and firm up overnight. After mixture has set, pop your birdseed mixture out of your mold. A silicone mold makes this super easy as it flexes.

To add the owl details. . . eyes, beak and talons, mix up some edible “glue”, (the same mixture, without the seed):

• 3/4 cup flour

• 1/2 cup hot water

• 1 envelope unflavored gelatin, such as Knox

• 3 tbsp. corn syrup

I used half a recipe of edible “glue”.

The glue stays workable for about 30 minutes so it’s best to have your supplies ready to go once your glue is mixed.

To attach a beak, eyes and talons, apply the “glue” with a brush to the seed mixture surface where you want to place them. For the beak, I used a raw almond, raisins for eyes and sunflower seeds for talons. I cut some juniper sprigs to glue on for some feather details on the owls faces. Allow your owls to sit for 2 – 3 hours for the features to set and glue to dry before hanging.

I had more seed mixture than I had cavities in my owl mold so I used a muffin tin to mold it to hang, so my surplus mixture didn't go to waste.

If you can’t find a silicone owl pan / mold you can use the same method as seen  HERE, filling an  owl cookie cutter.

The method is the same, spraying your cookie cutter with nonstick spray for easy removal, then filling with your seed mixture. Instead of using u-pins, I used a drinking straw to poke a hole through the center near the top of each birdseed mold, making sure it went all the way through. Leave the straw in until the mixture is set. When set, remove the straw and thread with twine to hang.

Find another fun project for the birds, a  Birdseed Bed & Breakfast!

An easy DIY project with the kids for a snowy or cold winter day.