Birds- preparing for winter

As autumn approaches, it's time to start thinking about your garden birds again, especially if you haven't fed them for a while.
Firstly give all your feeders water containers and bird table a good scrub and rinse and allow to dry.
Check your bird food sacks, especially if you have had peanuts sitting since last winter. If there is ANY doubt at all whether they look fresh, discard and buy new. There is a peanut mould which is fatal to birds if they eat it.
Fill up your feeders, water pots and table (but not too much) and sit back with your binoculars!
Now is also the time to clean out and repair nest boxes, and put up new as they will be used for roosting over winter.

Other things birds like: sultanas, other dried fruit, apples and pears for ground feeders like blackbirds.

Fat cakes (especially in cold weather).....make your own. Don't put waste fat down the sink- save it in a bowl and when you have enough heat it up and stir in bird seed, ground up peanuts and sunflower hearts, dried fruit etc.

Has anyone got any other ideas?