Feeding the birds in winter is very important. There are no insects or berries to be had and the ground is often frozen so they cannot dig for worms.

What you need: wild bird seed (available from pet shops or garden centres); lard; empty pots - yoghurt pots are ideal; mesh fruit bags; string; saucepan; spoon

1. Melt the lard in a pan. Once it is melted, stir in the bird seed. BE CAREFUL as the lard will be hot

2. Fill the pots with the mixture and press it down. Leave the mixture to set.

3. Once the mixture has set, take it out of the pot and put it in the mesh. Tie some string to the mesh so you can hang it up.

If you don't have any mesh, shove some mixture into a pine cone and hang that up.