Keeping Our Feathered Friends Fed This Weekend

Temperatures are set to drop to as low as -12 this weekend and the area around Glastonbury looks set for snow.

It's been a mild winter so far and I for one am quite enjoying the cold spell and looking forward to the possibility of the white stuff. But the ground has been frozen now for a couple of days and with the weekend set to be even colder, it's an idea not to forget that some of our wildlife might need a help with feeding.

Making fat blocks for the birds is a simple task and easily done with children if you want to involve your kids or grandkids. Put aside some used yoghurt pots or margarine tubs. Buy a couple of packs of lard, some seeds (sun flower, pumpkin etc), chop some bacon rind if you have it, breadcrumbs, unsalted peanuts. Melt the lard into a pan and add the seeds etc. Make a hole in the base of the yoghurt pots and thread a piece of wool or string through, tying a big knot on the inside to stop it from pulling through.

Decant the mixture into the pots and leave it to set. When it has set, carefully remove the yoghurt pot from around the set mixture, leaving the string intact to hang it from a branch or bird table. Remove the margarine tub from the set mixture and place that directly onto a table or windowsill. Remember also to break the ice on any trays of water you may leave out.

Photo courtesy of Paul Dickson