Why not make your garden birds a Christmas cake?

Birds in the garden and on the plot really struggle for food at this time of year. So why not help the children to make a Christmas treat for them. Click here for instructions for a variety of bird cakes for all types of birds as well as suggestions for some other treats and activities. Although children will enjoy this activity, adults enjoy watching birds feed on these treats too!

The RSPB carry out a Bird Watch each year to track how well our garden birds are fairing. The records provide them with a vital snapshot of the UK's birds each winter. Over the years their scientists can record patterns in bird numbers and use this to help prioritise their bird conservation work. The survey has recorded huge declines in some of our most familiar birds. Since 1979, the number of house sparrows counted has fallen by 52% and the number of starlings by 72%. So by feeding birds through winter we may be able to halt and even reverse this decline.
You can help even further by taking part in this year's Bird Watch. You don't even have to leave the comfort of your home - you simply take an hour during the 27 or 28 January and record the highest number of birds of each species visiting your garden. Click here for details. You may manage to attract some unexpected visitors like the pied woodpecker that sometimes visits our garden.

Remember all through even the coldest parts of winter it is vital that birds have access to water for drinking and bathing. We have a timer or our outside tap that is set to fill our bird baths several times a day so that the birds are never without a supply. They in turn provide us with hours of amusement and also help rid our garden and allotment plots of pests throughout the year.