Sunday People

Help birds survive harsh weather

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GARDEN birds need protein and fats to survive the British winter – and there is no easier way of providing it than with fat balls.

On the ball

Mix food with lard and this acts as an adhesive. The birds can peck out the seeds and get a good balance of nutrients and fat.

It’s great fun, a fantastic project to get the kids involved with and you’ll be helping your free garden pets – the great British birds.

You need a piece of lard and some cereal or seeds. Either pick up some bird seed from a pet shop or garden centre or simply mix in a packet of breakfast muesli.

Going to seed

A good mixed seed selection will appeal to the widest range of bird species. Mealworm will give them a real treat when the weather is very cold. But I’ve known people add dried fruit and even grated cheese in their fat balls. The birds will gobble it all up gratefully.

In the mix

First get the lard, cut it into slices

String them up

Next you’ll need something to hang up your fat balls. Garden string is probably most convenient, or some old knitting wool. Make a loop then roll a fat ball around so it goes through the middle of the string, leaving a good length to tie to a tree or fence.

Then put everything into the fridge on greaseproo­f paper to solidify the food. After a couple of hours they’ll be ready to hang up outside. Alternatel­y use pastry or jelly moulds to create fun shapes. You can pack the fat ball mix into empty yogurt or cream cartons with a hole in the bottom for the string. The birds can feed from underneath.

BURY your broken spade handle-down into ground near your back door to use as a welly boot

scraper. and put it into a bowl with the seeds. Make sure the lard is at room temperatur­e so it’s pliable. Give it a good mix with your hands, mush everything together so you’ve got a nice pasty mixture that is saturated with seeds.

End on a high

Make sure fat balls are high enough off the ground so that cats or other predators can’t get them. And pray that mice and rats don’t learn to fly.

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