Why you should think carefully before feeding birds

[watervole]

 Recent research has shown that some fatal diseases in garden birds are spread by bird feeders.  The RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) stopped selling bird tables several years ago, and have now issued guidelines on what times of our one should not feed at all, and how often seed and suet feeders should be disinfected.

After thinking about it, I've taken down my feeders.  They were getting very little use in recent years, and when I'm unwell, I can't clean them regularly enough.

I still have plenty of plants that attract insects, and a tree with rough bark where I often see small birds looking for food.

Advice from the RSPB 

Comments

[bugshaw]

Thanks, I've made a card to go in my calendar to remind me in May and November what to do and why. I'd heard some talk of this, but the RSPB advice you posted was useful on the what, when and why.

I don't have a lot of useful plants, but next door has been untouched for a good five years and that's where the birds nest undisturbed, lots of ivy on that side of the fence for them.

[watervole]

Excellent! And very organised.

Ivy is wonderful stuff. It gets maligned, but birds love it.

[bugshaw]

I have a similar card for the clock change days, with instructions on how to set the oven and microwave :-)

[annofowlshire]

We took down our bird feeders (inherited from the previous property owners) when we got chickens figuring that given bird flu epidemics, we shouldn't be inviting a place for the disease to spread from (particularly to our hens, but also the wild ones).

[watervole]

I hadn't thought of that aspect, but it makes excellent sense when you have chickens.

[julesjones]

I was mildly annoyed that this came out a few days after I'd bought the sack of chipped sunflower hearts in nestling size chips, along with a spray bottle of disinfectant... Well, they and the peanut fat blocks will keep until autumn. I'll just have to live with the Accusing Stares from the hedge in the meantime.

We'd only just started using the feeders again after a couple of years of them lying idle because of a rat problem. The only reason we did was because Husband insisted that we needed to get rid of them as part of the garden spring clean, and as we were sorting through what was in good enough shape to donate to the local charity shops we turned around to discover we were being watched by a hopeful looking robin on top of the feeder pole.

[watervole]

It's an easier call for me. We had hardly any birds on the feeder over winter, so were having to remove food that was getting mouldy.

[julesjones]

I feel bad about it because before the interregnum I really have had Accusing Stares from a bunch of great tits, sparrows and a couple of robins sitting in the small tree next to the feeder when I've come home from work to find it nearly empty. They knew exactly where sunflower seed suet balls came from and were utterly shameless about it's the Food Ape's job to provide food. (The nuthatches are a lot shyer.) But I'd like to keep on seeing the attempts to guilt trip me, so no food from the end of April.

[watervole]

I think you may still be allowed suet and mealworms in small amounts, but definitely no seed and nuts.

But even it it's only suet, you still have to disinfect weekly.

I'd check the RSPB website to be certain.

I am now visualising the accusing stares...

[vera_j]

The hygiene of bird feeders is well known here - our Czech Bird Society (which I am a member of) has been lecturing people for a long time. Without feeders, our bird would suffer...especially in February and March, which are called "hungry months", plus April this year, which is extremely cold. Brids are nesting and there are no berries or seeds left. I have already "consumed" 60kg of special feeding mixtures for wild songbirds. I have two feeders and every day I have to fill them, now twice. But I have lots of many birds: All kinds of tits, sparrows, goldfinch and other kinds of finch family, garden doves, robins, even woodpeckers. And I clean and dissinfect the feeders every year ( well, I bought a new one, plastic, with a big supply compartment). I can´t imagine being without watching the lot every day !

[watervole]

I recommend reading the article in detail. A lot of this is new research.

eg. You should disinfect feeders once a week, not once a year.

You should not feed seeds or nuts at all from the start of May to the end of October. (wild food is more abundant, and chicks need soft food like insects and mealworms)

Also, move the feeders regularly to avoid stuff building up beneath them.

Sadly, it's partly the large number of birds that causes the problem. They spread infections to one another, mainly via their saliva.

[vera_j]

I understand. However I prefer helping the birds to keeping up with all the rules. There haven´t been any ill birds here in the wild since I live here. I am well aware of the latest research - I am a memeber of the Czech Bird Society and read the newsletters regularly. There are less and less songbirds, especially certain kinds...so no matter what, I and we here feed them.

[watervole]

Well, if you're going to continue feeding them (I can't stop you), then, do, please disinfect the feeders weekly.

You're unlikely to see the ill birds - they will mostly keep out of sight to try and avoid predators.

PS. Even if we disagree on this, you are still my dear friend!

[galadhir]

Yes, I heard the same, which is a shame. I've taken down my seed feeder, and I'm just keeping the fat ball feeder up until the end of the last ball/the start of May, whichever comes first. After which that will come down too.

I have focussed over several years on putting in lots of native plants, and the garden is full of insects, so that will have to do. The local robins and blackbirds are certainly very happy with the worms and slugs. But I'll miss the seed feeders.

[watervole]

I'll miss them too. But, like you, I've got a garden with plenty of insects. Bees, beeflies, wasps, little things that hover over the pond, etc.

My toddler grandson is fascinated by the flowers of the wild garlic :)

[galadhir]

Wild garlic flowers are lovely :) One side of our house is a thin corridor which gets only 1 hour of sunlight a day, and all I can grow down there is wild garlic and edible ferns. But I'm not complaining as that's a nice combination.

[watervole]

What ferns are edible apart from asparagus? What do they taste like? Do you cook them or eat them raw?

[galadhir]

The ferns are Ostrich Ferns, Matteuccia struthiopteris. You eat the new fiddleheads in the spring and coincidentally they taste a bit like asparagus. You kind of cook them like asparagus too, just saute'd with a bit of butter.