Let kids create their own bird feeder using an old 1-liter plastic pop bottle and a couple of wooden spoons. To make the feeder, go up about 2 inches from the bottom of the bottle and draw a 1-inch diameter circle using a permanent marker (this is where the bird food will spill out onto the wooden spoon). Now, turn the bottle 180 degrees and directly opposite the circle, using a craft knife cut a 1/2-inch asterisk (this is where the end of the spoon will stick out). Rotate the bottle back so that you're looking at your first circle, and going up from that circle another 2 inches, rotate the bottle 90 degrees and draw another 1-inch diameter circle. Spin the bottle 180 degrees and cut another 1/2-inch asterisk, or slits, in the bottle using your craft knife. You will now need to carefully cut out the two circles using your craft knife. Be sure to have an adult assist with the cutting. When done, insert the wooden spoons handle by pushing it first through the holes and then gently through the asterisk in the back. Take the cap off the container and fill with bird seed. Put the cap back on and hang with either twine tied around the lid, or alternatively use a small eye screw (a screw with a little round hole on one end) and twist it into the top of the lid, securing the twine through the round hole.
Using an old potato, onion or other bag with a mesh exterior, fill it with materials you think birds would like to nest in: pet hair, small sticks, grass, raffia, nonmetallic ribbon or cotton balls. Find a safe place to hang the bag where birds can easily get at it. Using string from the bag or a piece of twine or other string, suspend it and watch as the birds use it as a supply point for building their nests. Pay attention to see what materials the birds prefer so that you can add more of those materials and get rid of the ones they don't use.
Learn how squirrels manage to eat without having opposable thumbs like we do. Give the children a bowl of peanuts in the shell to try to crack and eat the peanut inside (be sure no one has nut allergies) without using their thumbs. First, using masking tape, tape kids' thumbs to their palms by having them hold their hands out, palms up. Then, enjoy the fun as they try to get a peanut, crack the shell and eat the nut inside. See how fast they develop a strategy for cracking the shell without using their thumbs.
Children love to discover animal tracks and ponder what may have made them. Explain to them that you are going to go on an animal tracking mission, but first you must prepare your supplies. Cut out poster board collars (2 inches wide and 10 inches long). This will be the frame that holds the plaster of Paris you'll pour in to form the cast. Don't forget to bring water and 2 cups of plaster of Paris in a ziplock bag. Go out for a walk where you might find animal tracks: sand, snow and muddy area are good spots. Tell the children to be on the lookout for prints, and try not to step on them. Once they find one, blow or lightly brush off any debris that may be in the track itself. Then, push the poster board collar gently into the soil around it, framing the track. Slowly pouring a little water at a time into the ziplock bag with the plaster of Paris, stir until it thickens but remains pourable. Then, pour it into the collar about a 1/2 inch deep. While the plaster sets (10 to 20 minutes), have the children help identify in an animal tracking book the track you're making a cast of and discuss the traits of that animal. When the cast is set, lift it with the collar, wipe the bottom and tear off the collar. You now have a casting of your animal track.
Children can take home an original spider web design and study the intricacy of a spider's work. Collect some newspaper, a can of spray paint without fluorocarbons and some white poster board or mat board. Take these with you when you go looking for webs, preferably early while the dew will make them easier to spot. Look for a web without a spider on it. Once you spot one, have one child hold up a piece of newspaper behind the web to protect the surrounding plants, while you spray paint the web on both sides (beginning in the middle and moving outward). When done, hold the poster board and move it toward the web until it makes contact. Keep it steady, until the entire web has been secured on the board. Cut the lines attaching the web to the plants and hold the poster board in the air until the paint dries. You now have a spider web masterpiece of your own.
DLTK's Crafts for Kids includes a section in which you can look up animals by habitat or by animal classification. For each animal there are numerous crafts, including printable coloring pages, worksheets and games. Disney Family Fun includes a section on animals and bugs with craft ideas and an array of printables.