How to make your own bird feed – wildlife expert reveals their favourite recipe that will have birds flocking to your garden

Feeding the birds is something we all enjoy from childhood at the duck pond, right through to adults scattering seeds for the birds that visit their gardens. Not only are birds beautiful and relaxing to watch, but they are also vital pollinators for your garden ecosystem. One of the best ways to attract birds to your garden is by providing a nourishing food source, and you can make your own bird feed at home.

Making your own bird feed is a cost-effective way to feed your garden birds, as you can batch cook throughout the season. And now is the perfect time to start practising when autumn and winter are edging a little closer. So, without further ado, this is how to make fatballs for your garden birds.

What you need

• Lard - you can pick this up for 50p at Sainsburys
• Peanut butter - you can get 1kg of peanut butter for £7.69 at Holland & Barrett
• Mealworms - dried millworms are £11.99 on Amazon
• Sunflower seeds - you can grab sunflower seeds for £10.60 on Amazon
• Peanuts - choose unsalted peanuts such as these whole peanuts for £14.99 on Amazon

Method

To make fatballs for your garden birds, James Ewens, gardening and wildlife expert at Green Feathers, has shared the recipes he likes to use to feed his garden birds.

‘You can start with equal parts lard and peanut butter, and melt it down together over a low heat. You can add in any bird-friendly ingredients like unsalted shelled peanuts, dried fruit, cooked or uncooked rice, rolled oats, mealworms, sunflower seeds… the choice is yours!’ he says.

‘Once these ingredients are combined, the mixture can be chilled for a day or overnight, then cut into cubes for your birds!’

Why should you make your own bird feed?

‘I prefer making my own bird feed, because it’s fun, educational, and like cooking, except you can’t eat many of the ingredients along the way! We’ve embraced the recent Chirp-cuterie trend; it’s charming, fun, and a great way to lure in different birds, give them a great food source, and boost biodiversity in your garden,’ says James.

‘With making your own bird feed, you have control over the ingredients you use, too. If you notice your birds are leaving a lot of their dried cranberries and opting for sunflower hearts instead, you can ensure you’re choosing the right foods for your bird populations. It’s a great way to get the family involved, educating each other on the different types of foods each bird needs, and you can tailor your homemade bird feed to your most popular varieties - and introduce different bird feed to diversify this, too!’

Fat balls are most beneficial when the weather drops and food is scarce; however, they can also be given as an added boost during nesting season. In hot weather, avoid leaving fat balls out as they have a tendency to melt.

However, when making your own bird feed, you should avoid foods such as bread, which can attract rodents and salty food like salted peanuts, which can dehydrate birds.

Will you be testing out this recipe?