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We could be indulging in a delicious Christmas meal during the festive season at a time when food and shelter for our wildlife are in short supply and a few treats for the creatures in our garden could mean the difference between life and death.
“During the cold months, gardeners can have a significant impact on the survival of a number of species by providing food, water and shelter,” says Helen Bostock, senior wildlife specialist at the RHS.
Making bird food crackers, insect shelters and other small but vital gifts should make life easier for our garden visitors during the winter. Experts offer the following guides.
Festive Bird Cookies
Dawn Casey, author of RSPB Bird Tales (Bloomsbury Wildlife, £22), encourages readers to reconnect with nature through bird-related activities and suggests making biscuits for robins.
Use one-third lard or suet and two-thirds a mixture of seeds, nuts, dried fruit, raw oats and cheese, he advises, and you'll need cookie cutters to shape the mixture, perhaps into star or other shapes. festive forms.
Melt the lard, pour it into a heatproof bowl and add the remaining ingredients, stir the mixture. Place the cookie cutters on a layer of parchment paper on a freezer-safe tray.
Pour the mixture into the cutters, flatten it out and use a pencil or straw to make a hanging hole in each shape, then place the tray in the freezer for a few hours to allow the shortening to harden again.
Once ready, remove the 'cookies' from the cutters and thread the twine through the holes, before hanging them on the branches for the winter birds.
The RHS suggests that pine cones can also be used as a base for seed cakes. Simply push the seed mixture between the scales of each pine cone.
If you're making a batch of bird crackers, you may want to take them out of the freezer two at a time, rather than taking them all out at once.
If you have leftover cookie mix, you can poke a hole in the side of half a coconut shell (without pulp or milk) and then pour the mixture (while still hot) into the shell, leaving the hole exposed, and pour a little thread through. and once the mixture is cold and set, hang it on its side from a branch.
Bird Feeder Garland
You can use this garland on a balcony or to decorate an outdoor Christmas tree, says Bostock. It's also a fun holiday activity for the whole family to enjoy.
Using natural materials, decide how long you want your garland to be and cut a piece of twine or twine to the appropriate size. Thread a strong needle with the thread and then tie a knot in the thread at the end opposite the needle.
Push the needle through each piece of food to thread it onto the thread. Be sure to check that all food is suitable for wild garden birds. You can use dried fruits, plain popcorn, apple and pear pieces, fresh or dried berries. When the garland is full, remove the needle and secure the end with a knot.
Hang your garland in an outdoor space and wait to see how many birds come to feed. Different species of birds like different treats, so you can research what your visitors like to eat by experimenting with different foods and monitoring what they eat.
Once the birds have enjoyed their treats, place the leftovers in the compost bin. Also remove any fruit that begins to mold to prevent it from causing harm to wildlife.
Other ways to help wildlife this winter
Keep water full
In addition to using birdbaths, provide a shallow dish or bowl of water at ground level to benefit other garden wildlife that need to drink. Check it daily, especially in icy conditions, to ensure a supply of clean, unfrozen water is always available.
make an insect hotel
If you have a new garden with few mature plants and hiding places for insects, build an insect hotel and place it in a protected location. Overwintering ladybugs and lacewings will find this useful.
Build a beetle bench
To do this, add a mound of soil, especially in flat gardens, which provides shelter for many invertebrates. Alternatively, create a beetle bucket by filling it with rotting wood and leaves for beetles and other insects. This is perfect for small gardens.
Other gifts
Leave healthy herbaceous and hollow-stemmed plants unpruned until early spring, which can provide homes for overwintering insects, and cut prunings to uniform lengths to form twig mounds for hedgehogs and amphibians.
Follow simple instructions from the RSPB to build your own bird box, give the birds a safe place to nest and rest and have the children paint it if they want to personalize it, but only with non-toxic water-based paints.
