Feed the birds in this bad weather
Aug 14th, 2008 by Birdy Trish
I have put this in because I’ve just been thinking of how hard this countrywide wet, cold weather will make it for our british birds. This should be summer. We should be having sunny, warm days that we can and enjoy and our wild birds can enjoy as well.
This is a very good, simple recipe that gives birds energy quickly. It’s good because it bulks out the bird seed and gives our feathered friends much needed fat!
- 1 kilogram of mixed bird seed
- 500 g (1/2 lb ) lard. IT MUST BE FAT. IT CANNOT BE VEGETABLE OIL. BIRDS NEED FAT FOR ENERGY.
- Small containers lined with greaseproof paper or kitchen foil.
- Melt the lard in a frying pan. The lard does not need to get hot.
- Mix the bird seed and lard together in a large tub (as the lard wasn’t hot I used an old plastic ice cream tub
- Divide the mixture into the smaller tubs.
- Wait for the lard to go solid and the mixture to set
- Put the mixture from one of the small tubs on bird table and save the others for another day
- Sit back with a coffee and a biscuit and watch as they flock to eat the food.
Hi Trish,
I totally agree.
Several mornings recently there has been a very bedraggled looking hen blackbird which sat on a little platform where it can reach a fat ball holder having a good breakfast.
This evening a group of long tailed tits visited the fat balls three times in an hour just after a thunderstorm. Then really did look a scraggy lot as they were soaked.
With the unseasonable lower temperatures and all the really heavy rain there must be fewer insects around. Normally I see many damselflies and dragonflies round my pond. This year I have only seen one so far. Every little we can do to feed the birds will help build up their bodies. It’s not just a case of helping them during the winter but helping them to be in the best condition possible before the winter starts.
John
Hi John, don’t you feel sorry for them. Bedraggled and wet and hungry. I agree that with all the rain there must be fewer insects and it must be true that if a bird is weak in summer it will not have a good start to the winter - they need to be in good health to survive the short days and long cold nights (as we all do!) Trisha