Pots, Berries & Birds

The chill of autumn is in the air.  I’ve been looking around when me and Jassy are on our walks, noticing all the juicy berries in the hedge rows and trees.  When I was browsing facebook the other day, Gardeners’ World had posted a bird feeder tutorial.  I’ve had a go at making feeders before, but I never thought to use little terracotta pots!

So with a little bit of foraging for berries and purchasing some bird seed mix, I’ve put together a ‘how to guide’, so you could try it yourself 😀 Hope you like it!

You will need :

• Two small terracotta pots with holes in the bottom
• Bamboo canes cut into 4 pieces (they will need to be the size of the base, so they fit in nicely for hanging outside)
• Garden twine (Gardeners’ World used wire but I didn’t have any!)
• Bird seed mix
• Wild berries
• Lard
• Lunch box & kitchen roll

Preparation : 

1. Give the pots a thorough wash, you can use a small amount of soap but make sure it’s well rinsed
2. Tie two small pieces of the bamboo stick together with the twine.  Thread the twine though the hole in the bottom of the pot
3. With the second pot, thread the twine through first and then tie the knot around the remaining sticks, so it’s secure

Here’s an example of the berries I’ve picked up…

1. Take all the stalks and leaves off the berries

The seed mix : 

1. Gently heat up the lard in a pan.  I used a quarter of a standard bar (the lard is quite cheap e.g. 30p per bar) *The lard gets very very hot, so please be careful :)*
2. Add the seeds and your selection of berries
3. Carefully mix together

Putting it all together :

1. Place your pots into a tub – I used a lunchbox lined with kitchen roll. Leave the strings outside the tub so they don’t get too greasy.
2. Put the mix into the pots.  The lard drips through the pot and into the box, so it can get a bit messy.
3. Leave in the fridge over night to harden.
4. When the mix has hardened, turn the pots upside down onto another piece of kitchen roll or greaseproof paper. This lets you clean up the hardened lard at the base of the pot and on the string.

Alternatively, if you don’t want to make a marvellous mess, you can buy the fat balls ready made and mould them into the pots.

And then… ta-dar! 🙂 Delicious pots of food for the birds to enjoy as the weather turns cooler 😀

I hope this has inspired you to make your own. If you do, please let me know how you get on with yours 🙂

Lottie Land Girl Kaz xx