After days of indulging in festive food, some items might be reaching their use by date. We all like to stock up on favourite treats over the Christmas period, yet there can only be so much cake, cheese and nuts we can eat.
However, if you are reaching for the bin think twice before throwing out your Christmas offerings. Many leftover foods can actually have a positive effect on your garden and bring in birds. They can even have a festive treat as a result.
Garden expert Michael Griffiths shared his tips on his social media pages as he urges people not to throw away their Christmas food. Instead, he recommends making fat balls to feed the birds in your garden.
He said: “Don’t bin your Christmas leftovers, turn them into bird food. These DIY fat balls are one of the easiest ways to help garden birds through winter and reduce food waste at the same time.”
Michael shared how you can easily make the balls at home out of leftover cake crumbs, cheese, raisins and unsalted nuts. You just need some twine, empty yoghurt pots and lard, beef suet or goose fat.
Mix up your dry leftovers in a bowl. Melt your fat of choice in a pan then pour over the dry ingredients. To make your fat ball, simply poke a hole through a yoghurt pot and thread in the twine.
Tie a big knot at the end which sits inside the pot. Your mixture will now have started to set as it cools so you can squish it together and place in the yoghurt pot.
Keep the big knot of your twine right at the top of the mixture. Then, place your fat balls in the fridge overnight so they can become firm.
The next day you can simply remove the yoghurt pot and hang your fat ball outside in the garden. Watch as birds tuck into your leftovers that would have otherwise ended up in the bin.
According to the RSPB, certain foods will attract different birds. If you are wanting robins, dunnocks, blackbirds and song thrushes, make sure you put out grated cheese. Avoid blue or very strong cheese though.
Fruit such as apples and pears are popular with thrushes, tits and Starlings, while dried fruits will bring in blackbirds, song thrushes and robins.
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