Winter is coming! (Sorry, we couldn’t resist) Winter is on its way and it’s nice to give wild birds a hand when their natural food sources can be scarce. Fat balls are a fantastic source of food for birds during the winter months and are really easy to make at home.

We’ve collected a few recipes to help you make your own fat balls or fat cakes. They’re all simple and use ingredients most of us already have in our kitchen. We think this would be a great thing to do with the kids, or grandkids, to get them interested in nature.

• Gardeners World – how to make fat cakes for birds
• Eden Project - make your own bird cake
• Twootz – how make fat balls – this one contains some good ideas on what to put your fat ball in
• Thames Water – how to make a fat ball for birds

Finally, there’s a really good page on the RSPB website which tells you what is and isn’t safe for birds to eat. Don’t forget to make sure wild birds visiting your garden have access to water too. To stop bird baths freezing over in the winter put something that floats, such as a cork, in the water. Visit our birdcare section to see our collection of bird feeders, fat ball holders, bird baths and nesting boxes.