Wild Bird Seed Cookie Treats

These wild bird seed cookie treats are easy and quick to make in a couple of hours and will provide your garden birds with a tasty and nutritious snack to keep up their strength during the cold and lean winter months.

To make the cookies, you will need:

Wild bird seed mix (available from Garden Bird)
Lard, coconut fat, suet or vegetable fat
A baking tin about 2 inches deep or similar
Cookie cutters in various shapes and sizes
A large mixing bowl
Mixed dried fruits and nuts (optional)

First chop up the seed mix and optionally the mixed dried fruit and nuts into small pieces and place into the large mixing bowl. Melt the fat (or lard, or suet) in pan on a low heat until just about runny. Alternatively, you can place it in a plastic bag or bowl in the microwave and heat until soft.

Pour the melted fat into the mixing bowl with the seeds and mix together well. Using a wooden spoon might be the more delicate way of mixing, but getting the hands and fingers in there does the job much better and is much more fun!

Place the mixture in the baking tray to cool off, trying to keep it about 1 inch thick. Finally, when the mixture has cooled off, use the cookie cutters to create shapes in the mixture and lift these gently out of the tin.

Now all you need to do is give these delicious treats to your garden birds! Pop them on your bird table and watch your friendly garden birds come and enjoy their feast.

Always make sure the feeder or bird table is well out of reach of cats or other potential dangers for birds. Ideally, the bird table should be about 1.5 m off the ground and either covered or have drainage holes to prevent the bird food from getting too wet and going mouldy.