Festive Food for Feathered Friends

It's that time of year again when our hearts go out to all the little birds as they struggle to survive the winter. Winter is particularly hard for the small birds as they can very easily die from the cold. In fact, according to the RSPB site "The smallest birds, like blue tits and goldcrests, have to effectively feed throughout the hours of daylight in winter and consume a vast quantity of food - as much as 30% of their body weight - to make sure they build the necessary fat reserves to get them through the long, cold nights." That's a lot of food! So today we have been busy making festive treats to help them survive the cold.

(Some of you may remember us mentioning this idea to you last year but it's nice to be reminded. We also like to share our photos with you ... so here's how to make 'mince pies' that the birds will enjoy, complete with pics).

First we should say .. this recipe needs no mincemeat! All you need is to keep the little foil trays that your mince pies come in.

 

You will need one block of lard and any or all of the following;
Mixed bird seed
Dried worms
Peanuts (please only the un-salted variety)
Porridge oats
Grated cheese
Sunflower seeds

Simply allow the lard to soften at room temperature (you don't need it to melt completely) and cut into small pieces. You can then soften it further by working it with a fork. Then the fun begins! Stir in plenty of seeds, nuts, etc and mix well. Spoon it into your foil cases and leave to set in the fridge. Once they are set, place one or two at a time on your bird table and see who comes to visit. We were able to make 12 'mince pies' from one block of lard so, unless our friendly squirrel gets there first, we think the birds will have plenty to tuck into this winter.

For more ideas on how to help the birds, see our blog Tweet Treats.