by Linda Zirion

Created on: December 02, 2008   Last Updated: December 19, 2011

Halloween Bat Project

I really enjoy my hummingbird feeder, and hate putting it away for the winter. To get a little more life and seasonal delight out of it I turned it into a Halloween Bat feeder. A very simple makeover that all the kids and adults too; just loved!

Items needed:

Hummingbird feeder

30 5" Rubber bats (or make your own out of craft paper) I bought a bag of 30 - 5" bats for less than $4.00

Fishing line or black thread

10" piece of cardboard (fairly heavy)

Stapler and or Craft glue

Black pipe cleaners

Glow stick (for Halloween night!)

Cut the cardboard into a 10" circle, paint both sides black, and let dry. Paint very well as this will seal the cardboard in case of a rain storm or two. This is going to set on top of your hummingbird feeder giving you a place to attach the bats.

Mark the center of the black 10" circle of black cardboard and make a hole large enough for the hummingbird feeder hanging cord to go through. Mark the circle of cardboard where it sets on the feeder as you don't want to hang bats in that area.

With pipe cleaners make three different size rings to latter glue on to the cardboard circle to hang the bats from. One ring can be 4" the next can be 7" and the last should be 10"

Cut the fishing line in 30 lengths ranging from 3" to 2 feet. (Just one or two 2 footers)

Divide bats into three even groups, one group for each pipe cleaner ring.

Attach one end of the fishing line to the top of the bat. (I stapled them with the staples going from right behind the ears to the tail: so that I could adjust how they hung.) Attach the other end of the fishing line to the pipe cleaner ring Try to evenly space the different length bats on the rings. Glue pipe cleaner rings to the cardboard circle and let glue dry completely.

Thread the hummingbird feeder hanger through the hole in the center of the cardboard circle. Hang from your favorite feeding station or in front of a window and enjoy! Don't forget to fill the feeder with your favorite blood type! On Halloween night I but red glow sticks inside the feeder for that extra little Halloween glow!

Tips:

Now and then my bat feeder gets visited by an angry hummingbird or two doing their best to chase the bats away! I now keep it filled with very red hummingbird food because I love seeing the bat wars.

This stores very well and can be used over and over again. I just take the cardboard circle off the feeder, place in a box, and wait till next year.

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