Do you love to feed the birds in your garden? If you do, you might want to have a go at making this recipe for wild bird cake. I remember watching presenters make this on Blue Peter in the 1970’s. I’ve been doing it most years ever since!
Have a go at making your own fatty bird food. It’s similar to type you buy as filled coconut shells, fat balls, or square suet feeders. You can be as wild as you like with the contents! Buy the cheapest ingredients, or it’s a good way to use up store cupboard goods that have gone out of date.
Recipe for wild bird cake
Minimum requirements:
one small cheap block of lard
half a cheap bag of porridge oats
Optional Extras:
raisins, currants, sultanas, dried fruit
bird seed, peanuts, hulled sunflower seeds etc
suet or similar grated fat
dried mealworms
Put the dry ingredients in a big enough bowl. Heat the lard in the microwave in a suitable bowl – it takes about 3 minutes. Once melted mix it with the dry goods.
This is enough to make a week’s supply of portioned food. You can either pack it into feeders to hang up, or spoon the loose mixture into seven small containers or food bags. Store in a cool place.
If you portion it separately, just tip the food onto the lawn or bird table each morning. Starlings, robins and blackbirds particularly enjoy this food.
Feeling adventurous. Increase the proportion of fat to dry mix and pack it into coconut shells or other containers to make hanging feeders.
Look after the birds
Some species of garden birds are thriving – the collared dove has done especially well. But others have been declining in numbers. Like sparrows and starlings for example. Years ago they were the most common of birds but these days are far from it.
Garden birds struggle in cold winters, with hard soil and limited pickings to feed them through the cold nights.
You can help by feeding them in your garden, and providing water – they all have to drink every day. If you don’t want to buy bird food you can help by putting your kitchen scraps out. Ideally anything with a higher fat content, like cake, cheese, meat etc. Bread scraps, particularly brown bread, are better than nothing, at least it’s something, rather than nothing to eat.
The best time to feed them is in the morning – they are hungry after long nights without food and will eat it quickly.
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