Pinterest Project: Birdseed Wreath

I've been a little bird-obsessed lately. I love watching the birds come to the feeders, especially in the morning while I have breakfast. V & I both like pointing out the different birds.
Recently I went to a bird banding event at the Burroughs Audubon Nature Center & Bird Sanctuary. It was pretty informative, and a lot of fun. After catching & banding the birds, they let the guests help let the birds go! Here I am holding a Dark-Eye Junco moments before releasing him. He was so soft!

(photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/aerokc/ )

My friend also got this amazing shot of the bird-banding expert being bitten by a male cardinal, who was ready to be released.

(photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/aerokc/ )

After the fun at the Burroughs Center, plus the Great Backyard Bird Count, I wanted to attract more birds to the yard. I have one seed feeder, a thistle feeder and one suet feeder, but that doesn't seem like enough (for me). I saw this very cute birdseed wreath on Pinterest, which took me to the blog post at Under the Table Dreaming.
I was antsy to get started, and didn't have the time to run to the thrift store to try to find a suitable mold (since I don't own a jello mold, or a bundt cake pan). Instead, I used a pie tin, and put a ramekin in the center.

 I sprayed the tin/ramekin with non-stick spray, then added the birdseed mix. To make the mix, dissolve 2 packets of Knox unflavored gelatin into 1 cup of water over low heat. Remove from heat and stir in 2 cups of birdseed. Once the seed is completely coated, press into mold.

 Let the birdseed sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours for the gelatin to set. After 2 hours (or more), remove the wreath from the mold. Take a ribbon and tie it in the center for hanging. 

We placed the wreath in the backyard near our other feeders, and it didn't take long for the birds to find it. The downy woodpeckers seemed especially fond of it. Unfortunately, so did the squirrels. It took 4 days for the squirrels to completely destroy the wreath and cart off all the hunks of seed-gelatin. It was still worth it to see the woodpeckers on the wreath in the morning.
This was a super easy project, and could be made into many shapes. I think it works best in the winter/early spring so that the temps aren't warm enough to melt the gelatin.
Happy Birdwatching!