Bird-themed Nature Art for kids

Bird-friendly arts and craft activities to do in the backyard are a fun, creative way to engage your kids in birdwatching and conservation. Natural art projects and crafts to decorate the garden are a perfect way to foster nature appreciation and skills.

These bird-themed creative art projects will educate families to connect more deeply with the feathered friends in their backyards. They may even inspire you to begin a project with your kids to make your garden more bird-friendly with native plants or making birdhouses and feeders.

Artistic expression fosters closer observation skills and a deeper connection with nature. As we create bird-related projects, we notice more intricate details like feather patterns, songs, and behaviors.

Craft projects for all the family

The opportunities for inter-generational learning are endless too. Kids of all ages can discover the joy of crafting alongside parents and grandparents.

It’s an opportunity to share skills and imagination while making artworks as diverse as paintings, collages, sculptures, and more.

In this guide, we share our enthusiasm for the vast array of artistic techniques possible. Dive into drawing, painting, sculpting, crafting and so much more.

Recycled Wind Chimes

Gather materials like sticks, seashells, beads, and feathers to create homemade wind chimes with your kids. Upcycling common objects makes for an eco-friendly craft.

Look for items around your house or out in nature like:

– Sticks and twigs
– Sea glass, seashells, stones
– Metal bottle caps
– Costume jewelry beads
– Feathers shed by local birds

Cut a piece of string or ribbon to use as the hanger. Choose a sturdy stick or branch for the frame. Have kids help lay out and organize the items how they’d like them arranged before tying them on securely with string or wire. Hang your finished recycled wind chimes from tree branches, porches, or fences to add musical nature flair.

The breezes will cause the chimes to dance and create delightful sounds! Reflect on how the recycled objects and natural materials mimic the colors, textures, and songs of neighborhood birds in a new form. Get creative with different materials each season.

Found Object Mobiles

Searching for natural treasures and repurposing them into mobiles is a wonderful way to spur creativity through seasonal changes. During your backyard explorations, collect items like pinecones, acorns, seed pods, twigs, and feathers shed by local birds.

Have kids sort through the materials and assemble them into hanging sculptures. Wrap wire around pinecones, use string to dangle twigs, and intersperse feathers for a dramatic effect. Hang these found object mobiles from tree branches to put your art on display.

Endless supply of seasonal treasures

As the seasons change, revisit the mobiles and see what new natural elements you can add. Acorns and leaves in fall, pinecones in winter – let nature inspire your creative tinkering. The natural colors, textures, and movement will delight kids and give them pride in showcasing their own innovative designs.

Rock Paintings and Sculptures

Decorate stones collected in your yard by painting small birds, flowers, butterflies or other nature designs. Use acrylic craft paints in vivid colors. Arrange groups of painted rocks together to form stunning art sculptures. Place these in flowerbeds, along walkways, or clustered on top of garden walls. Let the rocks weather naturally for an organic feel.

Frames with Natural Materials

Collect an assortment of leaves, flower petals, twigs and other finds. Use glue to affix the materials into mosaic patterns or shapes inside picture frames. Tap into patterns in nature, like a bird silhouette. Hang these back-lit shadowboxes in trees where light filters through the natural materials to create a stunning effect.

Woven Bird Nests

Weave bowl-shaped bird nest sculptures to place in trees and shrubs around your yard using yarn and natural fibers. Wrap yarn around a bowl as your base. Add collected materials like twigs, dried grasses and leaves to camouflage and adorn the nests. Use bird field guides to match regional nest designs. Shelter real birds by providing these cozy woven homes.

Dreamcatcher Mobiles

Craft dreamcatcher-style ornaments using bendable twigs, yarn, beads, and found feathers. Wrap and tie the materials into a web-like design with dangling decorations. Hang these whimsical creations from tree branches where they can twist in the breeze. Use ribbon to create different lengths for visual interest.

Recycled Suncatchers

Upcycle household materials like plastic bottles, CDs, milk jugs and vinyl into decorative suncatchers. Cut bird silhouettes out of vinyl, punch holes in plastic lids, or use glitter paint on recycled surfaces. Add string or ribbon to hang in sunny garden spots. When the sunlight hits, the suncatchers will dance and sparkle.

Nature-Inspired Suncatchers

Appreciate the detailed textures of leaves, flowers and ferns by pressing them inside acrylic shapes with a fusible product like Mod Podge. Hang these nature suncatchers in bright window spots to admire the subtle details. Backlight them to see lacy shadows the pressed elements create when lit from behind.

Garden Signs and Plaques

Making personalized garden signs, plaques, or stepping stones is a great way to spark kids’ curiosity about local birds.

Gather smooth stones or wood slices to use as your base. Have kids paint or woodburn charming designs and bird facts onto the surfaces.

Some ideas include:

– A personalized “Birdwatching Station” marker
– Stepping stones or signs with names of common backyard visitors
– Fun trivia like “A hummingbird’s heart beats up to 1,200 times per minute!”
– Customized distance markers along nature trails

Let their creativity fly free in designing informational or decorative signs. Install them along garden paths or borders as a whimsical way to boost knowledge.

Kids will love pointing out the unique markers they crafted themselves, and may pick up some fascinating birding facts along the way!

Stepping Stone Bird Baths

Making a stepping stone pathway is a fun hands-on activity for kids to learn about backyard birds. Collect leaves, feathers, and other natural finds from around your yard. You can also make DIY imprints like bird tracks using carved potatoes or other objects.

Mix up a batch of concrete, letting kids add the materials or imprints how they like in the stone mold. Smooth the surface. Once dried, have them help lay the pathway while thinking about spacing between “birdbaths.”

As you create, talk about how each stepping stone is unique, just like the bird species in your yard.

Have kids observe shape details in the imprints, comparing them to field guide drawings. The pathway becomes an interactive learning opportunity.

Bird Seed Mosaics

Give new life to leftover bird seed by turning it into art. Decide on mosaic patterns or have kids glue seeds, rice, lentils and petals intuitively onto frames.

Talk about common backyard bird species and their preferred foods as you create. Hang these organic mosaics in protected areas to admire. Let the materials deteriorate naturally over time.

Twig Bird Sculptures

Collect fallen twigs and branches in a variety of sizes. Have kids select pieces to assemble into bird shapes using florist wire or yarn to attach.

Encourage them to pay close attention to shapes, textures and proportions as they bring their avian sculptures to life. Share stories of how you bonded deeply with nature while crafting as a child.

Building Bird Hideouts or Blinds

Constructing personal bird watching blinds or hideouts is an engaging way for kids to observe backyard birds closely without disturbing them. Have children collect branches, sticks, leaves, and other natural materials from your yard to build their own camouflaged shelter.

Guide them in selecting a spot that gives a good vantage point of trees, feeders, or other areas birds frequent. Use the collected materials to build a small three-sided enclosure with an opening to peek out from.

Cover the structure with more leaves, grass, or brush to blend in. Let kids customize their hideout with a small seat, shelves for binoculars or notebooks, and decorations.

Using the blind, they can quietly watch and record bird behaviors. They will get an up-close look at feeding patterns, nesting habits, and interactions.

Building and using their self-made bird watching shelter teaches patience, attentiveness, and respect for nature.

Nest Building Exploration

Collect natural materials like twigs, grasses, leaves, moss, and mud to use for designing miniature bird nests.

Go on a scavenger hunt in your backyard or neighborhood to gather creative building supplies.

Examine pictures of different bird nests in books or online. Compare the varieties of styles and materials used – from large twiggy hawk nests atop trees to tiny hummingbird cups on branches.

Talk about how nest architecture matches each bird’s needs. Have kids brainstorm and plan their own nature-inspired nest. Have kids put on their creative thinking caps to transform the ingredients into tiny homes.

Let young kids experience the art of nest building through hands-on play. Guide them in choosing materials and constructing a basic nest shape. Allow them to use imagination decorating with feathers, flowers, or other embellishments. Mimicking bird behavior boosts nature understanding and creativity. Display finished nests in protected outdoor spots.

Bird-Friendly Garden Art and Crafts – final thoughts

Creating art and crafts inspired by backyard birds is a wonderful way to heighten the beauty of your garden while also showing our feathered friends appreciation. Take inspiration from nature’s colors, textures, sounds and movements to produce unique projects that delight the senses.

Embark on this creative birdwatching journey together as a family. Let it strengthen your bonds with nature and one another.

Have fun getting a bit messy crafting, learning together and displaying your masterpieces outdoors. The birds will reward you by using your creative spaces.

Head out to the backyard today and see what natural materials speak to you. Brainstorm ways to transform your green space into an art gallery celebrating neighborhood birds.

Every new season will bring fresh opportunities for creative expression. Just open your mind, follow your imagination, and let your appreciation for our bird friends soar into art!

We hope you feel inspired to check out our articles on helping kids to make their own bird feeders, houses and bird baths, or creating backyards with bird-friendly plants and trees.