A major change is coming in November for all bird lovers who like to feed their feathered friends in the garden. The strict RSPB advice is set to change next month after earlier this year it called for a ban on using bird feeders.
Wildlife researcher Jack Baddams told BBC Morning Live hosts Helen Skelton and Gethin Jones that people were asked to stop feeding earlier this year because of a lethal disease which has killed ‘millions’ of birds.
“This is a very serious thing. So what they have told people to do is stop feeding seeds and peanuts through the warmer months when it can transmit more easily.”
He explained that from November, this advice is changing: “Starting from November, they’re saying it’s okay to hang up your seed feeders and your peanuts again as long as you’re cleaning them regularly. Those feeders need to be cleaned regularly. Once a week really, you need to be cleaning those feeders and any water area, any bird baths, things like that where birds might be coming to drink.”
He added that people need to make changes in their garden regularly too: “You need to move those feeders around as well to stop the build-up of disease in one spot. So when you get there every time you go and fill up your feeder, if you can move it somewhere else, it’s going to stop disease from being built up in one spot over and over again.”
He also said people need to ‘get rid’ of one kind of feeder. Mr Baddams explained: “We need to get rid of any flat surfaced feeder. So that’s bird tables, that’s window feeders, and that’s there’s a big trend now for AI smart bird feeders that have got cameras in them and they’ll take a picture and beam it straight to your phone.
“They’re really cool, but they’re not good because they’re flat surfaces. Birds can poo in the same area that they’re eating and it’s really bad for disease spread. But the best thing can do, I always say, is to build an ecosystem in your garden and not just a fast food restaurant. Try to feed the birds naturally.”
It’s the time of year when the leaves are coming down for trees – and he said people should not leap into action immediately, rake them and bag them up. He said: “And this time of year, really quick tip you can do is we’re so obsessed with collecting up all the fallen leaves and chucking them in the bin.
“If you need to rake them off your lawn, chuck them in your borders. That’s going to provide a great overwintering habitat for loads of invertebrates for worms and things like that. And I watch blackbirds and robins all winter feeding through the piles of leaves that I put in my borders. So, a really quick, simple, natural way to the birds in your garden. And that is a very cool thing to watch as well.”