How To Feed the Birds at Christmas

Remember the golden rules. When you've been handling bird feeders, remember to wash your hands when you come back into the house. And try to keep the bird table clean, so that the birds stay healthy. Making a source of clean water available is just as important as putting out food.

Don't think healthy! Birds need to cram in the calories during cold weather. They'll love anything that's energy dense. Leftover mince pies, cakes and biscuits will be very much appreciated. Christmas pudding is good, too! Keep the fat you cut off meat joints, the grease from the roasting pan and the bacon rind - the birds will love them all. Oils can be combined with absorbent foods like bread to soak them up - it's much better than pouring them down the drain. Bread fills birds up without providing many calories, so soaking it in fat also gives them an energy boost.

Birds love cold cooked potatoes, and crumbled or grated cheese. But avoid very strongly flavored or blue cheeses. Pastry, raw or cooked, will go down well too.

Save leftover fruit. Plenty of garden birds like fruit, so if you have a couple of apples that are past their best, chop them up on the bird table. Dried fruit is good too.

Avoid salt and chocolate. Birds can't handle salt, so don't feed them salted nuts, chips or snacks. Unsalted nuts and snacks are great. Likewise, chocolate isn't good for birds - so save that for yourself!

Don't feed vermin. To avoid attracting rats and other vermin, you need to make sure that you don't put out more food than the birds can eat in one day. Avoid meat as well. Birds will eat small amounts of cooked vegetables, but they're more likely to become food for vermin, so it's safest to put those on the compost heap instead.