It is odd. Bagels have been around in Europe since at least the 16th century. Originating in Poland, they became common in any country with a sizable Jewish population. There is an area of east London which had a "Beigel Lane" in the nineteenth century where bakers had their ovens and bagels were stored on long dowels.
Yet, in spite of all this European history, no European seems to have had the idea of using stale bagels to make bird feeders. The British are just as keen on feeding their birds as Americans are; British cities are full of little old ladies putting out bread for the birds, but the beautifully simple, ingenious, intelligent and economical idea of the bagel bird feeder is exclusively American.
To be fair to the British, it may just be the fact that bagels are not very well-known outside London, whereas they have become almost a staple in the USA. In 2008 sales of fresh, not frozen, bagels were worth a staggering total of over $430 million dollars. That is a lot of bagels.
The first use of the bagel as a bird feeder is difficult to trace. It may be quite recent. The descriptions of how to do it all follow a standardized method. You start by using a stale bagel. The bagel is thickly smeared with something either fat or sticky; peanut butter, honey or lard. The bagel is then pressed into a plate of bird seed so that the seed is pushed into the butter or honey or whatever. The bagel feeder should be thickly coated with seed. A string is threaded through the hole in the bagel and the completed bird-feeder is hung from a tree.
There are variations on this. Some people advise against using large seed such as sunflower because it will drop off. Some people advise putting the completed bagel in the freezer for a bit to let the surface harden. A number of instructions tell you to cut the bagel in half.
The purpose of the bagel feeder, apart from the obvious one of feeding the birds, is also standardized. It is for children. This is something you do with your kids, or with your elementary school classes, or with your scout group. The kids will have fun making them and fun watching the birds feeding from them. I think the old ladies who feed the birds in London would enjoy making them too, if they knew about it.
The reaction to the blogs telling everyone, "how we made a bagel bird feeder" are all the same. It's a great idea, there's no waste, it's a cool idea, must try it with the kids!
What is surprising is how obvious it seems once you have read about it. Why didn't we all think of that earlier? The bagel is clearly made to be hung up. One family have posted a gorgeous photograph of an outdoor Christmas tree, frosted and decked with lights and with bagel bird feeders hanging from every branch. Cool!
Who first had the idea? When was the first one? We don't know. Somewhere out there may be the man who invented the bagel bird feeder. A thousand thanks from a thousand parents, whoever you are.
