As we prepare for the biggest feast of the year don't forget to spare a thought for the hundreds of animals and birds that live here in Henbury too. The cold, dark winter months make life tough for them but, with a little help from us, we can help make winter more tolerable.
Here's a fun way you can help the birds in your garden this winter. Children and Grandchildren alike love to get messy in the kitchen so roll their sleeves up and let them loose on this fat cake recipe. They'll be delighted to watch a host of hungry birds feasting away once it's hung in the garden.
What You Will Need:
- Large mixing bowl
- Saucepan
- Spoon
- Empty, clean yoghurt pots
- Suet or Lard
- A mixture of Bird Seed, Currants, Cake Crumbs, Grated Cheese and Nuts
Method
- Empty the dry ingredients into your mixing bowl and mix well
- Melt the lard/suet in the saucepan
- Add the melted lard/suet to the dry mixture. You're looking for around 2 parts dry to 1 part fat as a ratio
- Stir well until the mixture sticks together
- Make a hole in the centre of the bottom of each yoghurt pot and thread through the twine
- Ensure that there is a good length of twine sticking out of the top of the yoghurt pot as this is what you will use to hang it in your garden
- Now pack the sticky mixture into the yoghurt pot
- Pop into the fridge overnight to set
- In the morning cut and peel the yoghurt pots from around the fat cakes
- Knot the twine at one end to stop it from feeding through the fat cake
- Your fat cakes are now ready to hang in your garden
Don't forget to leave fresh water for birds and a bowl of water at ground level for other creatures too. If your pond freezes over during the winter don't forget to make a hole so that animals can drink.
Any leftover fruit, bacon rind, stale cake etc is equally welcome scattered around the garden too.
We would love to hear your wildlife stories. You can contact us here.