@cliftoncat , yes that's a frozen pond in the background of my 1st photo. It was unfrozen a few days ago, but after couple of cold nights it has iced-over sufficiently for small birds to land on it. A goose, however, would fall through.
We do go through a lot of bird seed every winter, but we buy sunflower seeds and corn (maize) in large sacks from the Feed Store that supplies farms, which is cheaper than buying the small bags sold elsewhere. Suet cakes we buy from the local "Dollar Store" where everything is suspiciously cheap, but so far the woodpeckers have liked whatever the makers of the cakes put in the mix.
I see you are in Oxfordshire, UK. Are you anywhere near Witney? That's where I was born!
