Diane
Ward has cooked up the most enticing recipes for the small feathered
friends that visit our gardens and provide enchanting viewing.
Helpful,
practical and informative from making the different styles of bird
feeders; sunbird nectar feeder, scrap bags, coconut bells and feeding
logs as well as a section on feeding baby birds to a delightful
assortment of tips and hints on how to attract an assortment of birds to
your garden at different times of the day.
On
the Menu in Cooking for Birds you will find; Moth
Broth to attract owls, Peanut Pockets to encourage bird aerobics and
Angel Apples and Mini Muffins, which will have your feathered
guests, such as turtle and laughing doves, queuing up.
PEANUT POCKETS
Peanut pockets are quick and easy to make, and the bird’s acrobatics
as they move around to eat make them an entertaining addition to the menu.
You will need:
A large pine-cone
1 cup birdseed
a small jar of peanut butter
a large bowl or tray
string
Preparation:
Soak the cone in water overnight to soften and open up the scales.
Mix half of the birdseed with the peanut butter and use a knife to push
the mixture as far as you can into the scales of the cone.
Lightly cover the outside of the cone with the rest of the peanut butter
and birdseed mixture and then roll the cone in the rest of the birdseed.
Tie a piece of string to the top of the cone and hang it outdoors. For a
change you could fill the cones with pot pudding
HALF ‘N HALF DESSERT
You will need:
2 apples, thinly sliced
2 cups sliced carrots
2 tablespoons wholewheat flour
4 tablespoons honey
4 tablespoons butter or margarine
¾ cup orange juice
a shallow baking dish
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Put half the apples into the baking dish and
cover them with half of the carrots. Sprinkle half the flour over the
apples and carrots in the dish. Pour half the honey over the flour and dot
with half of the butter or margarine. Level out the mixture and repeat the
layers. Pour the orange juice over the mixture and bake for 45 minutes.
Allow to cool and cut into squares, which can be left on your feeding
trays.
MINI MUFFINS
You will need:
whites of 3 large eggs
3 tablespoons cooking oil
1 cup apple juice concentrate
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 cup porridge oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup chopped fruit
a greased baking tray.
Preparation:
Beat the egg whites with the oil until frothy. Add the apple juice
concentrate and mix (using a blender if possible). Add the flour, oats,
baking soda and cinnamon and mix well. Stir in the nuts and fruit bits.
Place teaspoons of the mixture on the baking tray and bake for 10-20
minutes at 180°C.
Mini muffins are enjoyed by birds and humans alike. Your feathered
guests, such as turtle and laughing doves, will be queuing up together,
and wagtails have been known to trot into the kitchen to see what’s on
the menu!
ANGEL APPLES
Glossy starlings and bulbuls are among the many birds that enjoy this
dish. Should you attract bulbuls, you will find they are boil, cheerful
and noisy, and they alert other birds to the presence of predators, such
as snakes, cats and mongooses.
You will need:
4 small apples
a greased baking tray
2 tablespoons wheat germ
2 tablespoons raisins
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ cup mixed nuts
1 cup apple juice concentrate
Preparation:
Core the apples and place them on the baking tray. Mix the wheat germ,
raisins, cinnamon and nuts and fill the centre of the apples with the
mixture. Drizzle the apple juice concentrate over the apples. Bake at 180°C
for about 45 minutes.
COOKING
FOR BIRDS
Fun recipes to entice birds to your garden
By Diane Ward
Illustrated by Verné
