The RSPB has issued new bird feeding guidelines and they start now.
Bird feeders are thought to be spreading disease(Image: Getty Images)
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has issued an urgent warning asking people to stop putting out seeds for garden birds from May 1 — but one expert gardener has revealed a clever, healthy alternative to keep birds visiting your garden throughout the year.
The bird charity introduced new guidelines which took effect on Friday, May 1 and will stay in place until October 31. The RSPB has warned gardeners, bird lovers and amateur ornithologists against offering birds seeds or peanuts, amid concerns that feeding birds during the spring and summer months, despite good intentions, is actually helping to spread disease.
The organisation says birds have suffered a ‘worrying decline’ in British gardens, partly down to an illness called trichomonosis. The ‘highly contagious’ disease can spread rapidly wherever birds gather in large numbers, such as around garden bird feeders.
The RSBP warns that trichomonosis is spreading(Image: Ben Andrew)
Writing in her One Garden Against the World Substack, Kate Bradbury suggested looking into bird-friendly planting instead. You might already have some of these plants growing in your garden, unwittingly enticing robins and sparrows back to your borders to find food, reports Wales Online.
Bradbury said: “Grow more plants like sunflowers, teasels and ivy, which provide natural sources of seeds and also insects.”
Because plants are smaller food sources with less surface area for diseases to spread and are distributed throughout your garden, they present far less danger to British birds. You might also consider planting Zinnias, Echinacea and Black-eyed Susan alongside shrubs such as Elderberry, Viburnum, and Honeysuckle, which offer food for birds during summer months, according to Wild Way.
The RSPB has pointed to evidence showing greenfinch numbers have crashed by 65% since 1979. It said: “Research has shown a worrying decline in some of our much-loved garden birds due to a disease called trichomonosis. This is a highly contagious disease and can spread where birds gather in large numbers such as at bird feeders. Greenfinches, for example, have dropped by over 65% in the last three decades – and you may have seen this decline yourself.
“Back when the Big Garden Birdwatch started in 1979 Greenfinches were at number seven in the top ten birds seen. This year they were down to number 18. The latest RSPB guidance is to feed birds seasonally and safely to avoid the spread of disease.”
This can be achieved by cleaning and relocating feeders weekly, refreshing water in bird baths daily and steering clear of flat-surfaced feeders like bird tables. It’s also advised you stop providing seeds and peanuts between May 1 and October 31. “Stopping the spread of disease is a challenge we can’t tackle alone. By taking these simple steps to feed seasonally and safely, we can all help protect the future of our birds.”
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