Homemade Wild Bird Cakes

Wild birds are a wondrous natural attraction. It seems morning cannot begin without the euphonious melody of local wild birds filling the air. For many, birdwatching is a passion. Spying on these magnificent creatures as they forage, build nest and protect their offspring can be a thrilling experience for the onlooker. If you desire to draw more wild birds to your back yard, you must come bearing gifts. These animals are always looking for an easy meal--a meal that you can provide by making a wild bird cake.

  1. Ingredients

    • Understand that different wild birds have different diets. What you will include in your wild bird cake depends on what kinds of birds you wish to attract and which kinds are native to your area. You may want to make a variety of different cakes to attract different birds. Regardless of what species of birds you are trying to draw, every wild bird cake should have a few common elements. Suet or lard provides the necessary fat content in the wild bird diet and should always be included. Although insects are the favorite meal of most birds, according to Birdola.com, seeds and nuts are more commercially accessible and therefore are usually the centerpiece of most bird cakes. Other ingredients that can be included are fruit bits, grains, dried corn and stale baked goods. The combination and quantity of these ingredients is mostly up to you, but at least one-third and as much as half of the bird cake mixture should be suet.

    Making the Wild Bird Cake

    • Purchase a container of yogurt and consume the contents. Wash out and dry the interior of the cup, then fill one-third of it with room-temperature suet or lard. Fill the rest of the cup with your desired mixture of bird cake ingredients. Pack the mixture in. Remove the suet and bird cake mixture from the cup and place into a large bowl. Thoroughly mix the suet with the bird cake mixture using your hands until it comes together to form a large ball.

      Poke a hole in the bottom of the yogurt cup. Tie a large knot in the end of a shoestring and run the shoestring through the hole until the knot hits the bottom of the cup and the cup can hang from the string. Pack the bird cake mixture back into the cup tightly and allow it to set in the refrigerator for an hour. Hang the cup with the mixture inside from any tree in your backyard.