there is also a weather worning out for you,a lot of snow over night and tomorrow,hear in cheshire I hope I am not talking too soon ,this evening there is no wind ,the odd shower, and a heigh cloud cover, tomorrow an east wind promist, winter draws on,lol

I don't think they need too much help, as they still have many store places in which to find food.

there are stil plenty of berries about, I walked down to the village this morning and was walking on them,

Thanks for the weather warning Cliffo, I'll get my thermals ready. Hope they can find water ok then Bob, because that's what they seem to look for the most. 7 Starlings in a tiny birdbath this morning!

We keep the peanut feeders out all year. Since about September they have had few visitors but just this week the serious activity has started again. We added fat ball feeders this week also.

We've had snow today here - everything was frozen this morning outside, including the fatballs in the feeder, believe it or not. Poor birds, thought they were going to knock themselves out trying to get something out of them - I had to put out extra seed instead.
Ginellie, I too am away for Christmas - I just make sure the nutfeeder is full up, and hang a seed feeder instead of putting it on the bird table every day, and fill up the fatball container too before I go. There was a huge amount of activity out there all day today, constant bird traffic, noticeably more than last week.

I think I'll put more peanuts out then. Just got a wonderful squirrel proof one so I know they won't be eaten in 20 minutes anymore.

its just wet here..... very wet.....and cold...mmmerry christmassss

surly any help does help and they will look somewear else its in there nature .as bamboo sais fat balls last quite a while and you could just get a few more feeders so the food lasts longer while your away .

Four fat balls, which is what fits in the container, last at most 2 days here Noseyp. Starlings arrive 10 and more at a time, as do jackdaws. Magpies are very greedy and the parakeets dominate the peanut feeder.
I will fill every feeder I can find and hope for the best.
Thanks you all for your advice.

I find the same, Ginellie - four fat balls = 2 days - unless they freeze, like they did overnight last night! I thought they were gonna knock themselves out trying to peck them...

How dim am I Bamboo, I didn't think about them freezing so Sophie and I are now off down the garden with a torch to bring them in for the night - the fat balls that is, not the birds!

Well you know, I would never have expected them to freeze, I couldn't believe they had, but when I went and looked, they were solid! Which tells me there must be quite a high water content - if it was just fat, they wouldn't freeze, would they. Mind you, because I've got fields round and about, I know the temperature out there at 3 a.m. (yep, I was still up) was -6C, so maybe that's why.

The birds are eating me out of house and home at the minute,they have finished all their seed and are now having any food scraps that I have.Yes Bamboo I have had a lot more birds today and more often.

bamboo mite of got something there why dont you freeze a couple of them and hang out some unfrozen ones so they last a bit longer .

had a suprize on the lawn this morning-- a green woodpecker-- saw one in the summet eating at the ants nests but not sure whats around at the moment-- it was near the pyracantha I wondered if it was after the berries that the blackbirds had dropped?

I fill half coconut shells with beef drippen which I get at the garder center and raisons,any water swells the raisons, even the rain only helps swell the fruit,and they do not freze, and are top of the pecks hear, I also hang small branches which I have routed grooves in and filled with drippen, you should see the bluetits sorting that out.

I don't mind them eating them so quickly, Noseypotter - they're hungry, I guess. And Cliffo, we always have duck at Christmas - I save all the fat (plenty of it) then melt it down later and add raisins, oats, nuts, small pieces of bread, whatever I've got, stir it all together and shove that out for the birds - they love it, gone in a trice.