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Get the kids involved in creating a backyard birdland.

Taylor Yeager, the public program coordinator and naturalist at the Massachusetts Audubon Society's Stony Brook Wildlife Sanctuary in Norfolk, and Laura Carberry, manager of the Audubon Society of Rhode Island's Fisherville Brook in Exeter and Parker Woodland refuges in Coventry, offer these suggestions for simple feeders that young ones can construct:

Find a pine cone and "spruce" it up. Tie a string on it first, then slather on some peanut butter and roll it in bird seed like an ice cream cone with sprinkles. Be aware, though, that squirrels like this treat, too. (Note: If your child is allergic to peanut butter, lard can be used.)

Clean an old juice or milk container. Cut a 3-by-3-inch hole about 1 1/2 inches from the bottom. This will be the perch and the place the bird will get its food. Go wild on painting the carton! Tie some string to it, fill it with seed and hang it in the back yard where it can be seen.

Get a 12-inch-long log and cut into it with a saw. Fill with suet or bird seed. Refill as needed. Hang on a bush or small tree. It attracts the likes of woodpeckers and chickadees. Use fruit to attract birds that might not prefer seeds. Hollow out an orange or grapefruit. Stick a string through it then fill it like a bucket with seed. They're colorful and decorative. (Hint: Birds such as bluebirds like raisins and cranberries; woodpeckers like nuts, and pigeons and doves prefer millet.)

Let them eat cookies - a simple flour and seed mixture, baked. Recipes can easily be found online. Just remember to put a hole in before they're baked so that you can insert a string later and hang them from bushes or trees.

Fill an old onion bag with suet and keep it where a light can be shined on it at night; you might just catch a glimpse of a nocturnal flying squirrel.

Discarded Christmas trees can be placed near feeders; they serve as an outpost for the birds.

Want to get your child involved in nature this winter? The Audubon Society has the following events planned in this area:

Powder Mill Ledges Wildlife Refuge in Smithfield, R.I. is offering Bird Feeding 101, part of the Armchair Naturalist Lecture Series, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 19. To register, call 401-949-5454, ext. 3041 or e-mail programs@asri.org.

Stony Brook in Norfolk will be holding a Critter Craft Day from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6. To register, call 508-528-3140.