Make a Christmas Cake for the Birds

You can make various kinds of winter treats to help the birds through the cold winter when food is scarce. Different types of birds feed in different ways. Blue tits will cling upside down, sparrows will cling to hanging containers, robins will visit bird tables and blackbirds like to feed on the ground. If you want to provide them all with treats them you will need to create some treats to hang in trees, some to put on a bird table and others to place on the ground or on low feeding tables.

What sort of container do you want to make?

To create a hanging container suitable for blue tits: Ask an adult to help you make a hole in the bottom of a yoghurt pot Tie a knot on one end of a piece of string. Push the other end of the string up inside of the yoghurt pot and through the hole in the bottom. When it has been filled you can then hang the pot up like a bell.

To create a hanging container suitable for sparrows: Ask an adult to help you to make about four holes along the rim of the margarine tub. Tie a knot on one end of each of four pieces of string. Push the other ends of each piece of string through the holes. Tie the loose pieces of string together over the top of the margarine tub Hang the tub from a branch so the birds can sit on top and eat the cake.

Use a container suitable for blackbirds and robins:

Use a margarine tub as above but without the string

Place the tub on the bird table or the ground.

To make a bird cake lollipop:

For this idea you will need a yoghurt pot and a piece of stick longer than the depth of your yoghurt pot. Fill the yoghurt pot with the seed mixture. Push the stick down into the mixture. Put in the fridge to set. When the mixture has hardened, break the pot away. Tie a piece of string the stick and hang from a tree. You need plenty of fat to stop the mixture falling apart.

You will need some ingredients:

• Hard fat either lard or fat that is left over from cooking a roast. (Margarine is no good as it will not go properly solid).

A mixture of some of the following just choose a selection, (don’t use stale or mouldy food though):

• Biscuit or cake crumbs
• Nuts (not salted peanuts, salt is bad for birds). DON’T USE PEANUTS IF YOU ARE ALLERGIC TO THEM.
• Grated cheese
• Sultanas or raisins
• Chopped apple
• Chopped bacon rind
• Mixed birdseed
• Chopped suet
• Oatmeal
• Cooked rice
• Chopped cooked pasta
• Dry cereal such as muesli.

To make the cake choose one of the two methods below:

Method 1:

Equipment needed:

• Your chosen container
• A saucepan
• A mixing bowl
• A large spoon

1. Melt the fat over a low heat until if is runny (DO NOT do this on your own - get an adult to help).
2. Mix all your dry ingredients together in a bowl,
3. Pour over the melted fat and mix so the dry ingredients are well coated.
4. Spoon the mixture into the yoghurt pot or other container.
5. Press the mixture down hard to make the mixture into a solid block
6. Place the container in the fridge for a couple of hours to harden the fat.

Method 2:

• Equipment needed:
• Your chosen container
• A saucepan
• Two mixing bowls
• A large spoon

1. Soften the fat by warming it but don’t let it melt
2. Let it cool so that it can be handled.
3. Whilst the fat is cooling slightly mix up the dry ingredients in a bowl
4. Chop the fat up into small chunks and put it in a different bowl.
5. Add all your dry ingredients a little at a time.
6. Use your hands to squeeze and mix the fat and dry ingredients together.
7. Keep adding the dray ingredients until it squeezes together into a ball
8. Press the mixture into a container.
9. Place the container in the fridge for a couple of hours to harden the fat.

Variations:

Press the fat mixture into the gaps in pine cones and hang the pine comes from a tree branch.

You can also thread tasty items onto a thin piece of string or thick cotton. Try threading peanuts still in their shells, grapes and other pieces of fruit and berries.

Other things to do:

Carry out a Survey

Make bird cakes from different ingredients and make a list of which type of bird go to each bird cake or make a note of how many birds go on each type pof bird cake and which bird cakes are eaten up first.

Learn to identify the birds in your garden

If you can’t identify types of birds click here to visit the RSPB web site. There is information, video clips and sound clips of the top twenty birds that are most likely to be found in your garden.

Take part in the RSPB Bird Watch

The RSPB hold a big garden birdwatch every year and this year it is on 27^th & 28^th January 2007. You just have to watch out for birds in your garden and you do not even have to go outside to do this. Why not take part and find out if the same birds are still in the top twenty. Click here for details.

Who knows your Treats may attract a pied woodpecker like the one that sometimes visits our garden.

Flower Bed Cup Feeder   These flower bed bird feeders are supplied in a pack of three and are ideal for any flower bed or plant pot, made from dried fruits with a bamboo stem and each complete with a small packet of seeds. They can also be filled with nuts or seeds of your choice A perfect gift for anyone wishing to encourage and watch birds feeding in their garden. • Supplied in a pack of three • Complete with a small packet of seeds per cup feeder • Can be used in borders, lawns and planters. • Drill a hole in a fence or pergola for higher feeding. • Suitable for seed mixtures, meal worms, scraps, etc. • Approximately Height 45cm CLICK HERE