A couple of nights ago I was chatting to Paul Brewster and he mentioned that he'd just finished mixing his Christmas Cake. Knowing that I'd be hard pressed to match Paul's culinary skills, I decided that I'd bake a cake for the birds instead.
With plenty of bird-food from Feldy at home I set about making the bird cake, follow these simple instructions to make your own.
The bird cake is very easy to make and takes very little time, for my latest mix I used the following:
250g of lard
200g of sunflower hearts
200g of wild bird seed
100g of chopped peanuts - use a blender to chop the peanuts, or crush them with a rolling pin
I warmed the lard in a large mixing bowl placed on the top of our solid fuel stove - this allows me to watch the lard until has just melted - its helps to cut the lard into 25mm cubes first. Alternatively warm the lard in a microwave - there is no need to melt it.
When the lard is soft, gradually add the sunflower hearts, bird seed and crushed peanuts, mixing them into the lard until evenly distributed.
Spoon the mixture into suitable containers for use / storage. I use 500g yogurt cartons. Put the cartons in the fridge for a couple of hours to allow the mix to set. The cartons can either be hung out for the birds, or the mixture can be wedged into crevices in trees, or holes drilled into logs / branches for a more natural photograph. All the images below were taken as the birds fed on the mix after I'd wedged it into holes and crevices on the trees, or waiting take their turn.