As winter starts to bite and the evenings draw in, nights of snuggling up in front of the fire are becoming more and more appealing. However, spare a thought for the wildlife in your garden.

Garden birds often require a helping hand at this time. If you don’t already feed the birds this is an ideal time to start. Putting out a little food each day can often mean the difference between life and death, particularly during icy or snowy weather.

If you already feed the birds then December is the time to adjust your menu, boosting the numbers of high energy foods available. High fat foods help to provide birds with extra energy resources with which to stay warm in the cold weather. Suet, fat balls, bird cake, mealworms and peanuts (never whole unless in a peanut feeder) are all good choices.

Like any good restaurant, presentation is very important, especially as you will be catering for species with varied table manners. Table feeders are good for a variety of species including robins, greenfinches and chaffinches, whereas hanging feeders are suitable for the more acrobatic birds such as blue tits and nuthatches. Food can also be placed on the ground for dunnocks, blackbirds and thrushes.

Homemade fat balls are a great way to deliver a high fat diet for your garden birds. They are also easy to make:

1. Melt some suet gently over a low heat.

2. Mix your seeds, nuts and/or mealworms (dried not live!) into the melted down mixture and leave to cool down. (If adding nuts do not add them to the mix whole as this presents a choking hazard for the smaller birds, instead wrap them in a tea towel and crush them with a rolling pin or pop them in a blender)

3. When cool enough to handle roll the mix into balls, including a length of string through the middle if you intend to hang them up. Place the rolled balls on a tray and refrigerate.

4. Hang or place your fat balls in the garden for the birds to enjoy.