How To Make a Christmas Pudding for the Birds

Many people put out birdseed and other foods for garden birds during the winter time, helping them to survive when wild food resources are few and far between. With a little effort, you can make a Christmas pudding for your feathered friends that will keep them warm and fed for Christmas.

1. Melt some hard fat. You need to find a fat that is hard when it is cold. Half a pound will make one large, or several small, bird cakes. Melt the fat carefully, then allow it to cool.



2. Make a mold. Plastic containers such as yogurt pots make excellent molds. If you want to hang food in several places around the garden, you might want to use several small pots. If you have a bird table, you could make one big bird cake.
3. Thread with string and add a perch. If you want to hang your bird cake, you will need to make a small hole in the bottom of your mold and thread string through. Leave plenty of string to tie the cake up with. Use a twig to keep the string from falling into the mold and it will double as a perch for the birds.
4. Mix in the food. When the melted fat has cooled, but not set again, you can mix in the bird food. You can use a combination of many ingredients: breadcrumbs, cake and cookie crumbs, nuts (shelled and unsalted), sunflower seeds, grated cheese, apple chunks, bacon rind and sultanas. You will soon find out which foods your birds like best. In winter, birds need a lot of calories, so don't worry about the fat content, but avoid foods with added salt and sugar.
5. Add to mold. Pour your mixture into your molds.
6. Leave to set. Leave your bird cake to cool until the fat has set.
7. Turn out. Slide your bird cake out of the mold and put it out into the garden. You may find this easier if you pop the mold into the freezer for an hour or so beforehand.
8. Watch the birds enjoy their meal! Enjoy the view as all the local birds come down to feed on their Christmas gift.