Feed the birds

A few days ago my children made these marvellous bird-feeders at our local Apple Day fete. The feeders are now hanging in our garden ready for action - there have been no takers yet, but it's very sweet how Buddy and Daisy have started creeping up to the window in the mornings, hoping to spot a breakfasting bird or two.

Here's how to make one:

1. Take a windfall apple and roughly core it with a sturdy screwdriver or apple corer.

2. Use a bamboo skewer or cocktail stick to make small holes all over the apple, randomly or in a pattern.

3. Push sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds halfway into the prepared holes.

4. Fasten a smallish stick - the perch for a bird - to a metre of thin string or garden twine; wrap it round a few times and secure with a knot.

5. Thread the other end of the string through the apple; it may need a little encouragement with the bamboo skewer.

6. Hang the bird-feeder as high as possible on a branch of a tree.

We attached ours to the handlebars of our bikes to get them home from Apple Day, and they looked fabulous.

I tried to find out who came up with the design of these brilliant bird-feeders, but no one seemed to know. However, I thought the idea was definitely worth sharing; after all there's an abundance of apples at the moment. And they were certainly fun to make. Now all we need are some hungry birds....