Top Tips for Bird Care from our bird expert

Mike Stentiford, MBE

Feeding

Always store your feed in a cool dry location – preferably in a plastic container.

Make food available throughout the year especially during the lean months of mid-winter (November to March) when natural seeds and berries have all but disappeared.

Avoid putting out peanuts between April and August as fledglings can easily choke them.

 
Ensure that feeders are topped up on a daily basis as, once birds have become familiar with your garden, they will become truly reliant on daily feeding.

Site more than one garden feeding station (bird table hanging feeders) if at all possible and, to avoid any build up of bacteria, occasionally move them to different parts of the garden.

Make sure that birds have a safe-haven of dense shrubbery nearby as an escape route from predators – cats and sparrow-hawks are their worst enemies.

Hygiene

Clean all feeding station regularly with warm soapy water. Remove all old, wet and uneaten bird feed as quickly as possible as this can be infected by a deadly parasite called Trichomonus, a nasty little mite that affects house sparrows and greenfinches in particular.

 Following any handling of garden feeders, ensure that hands are well washed – even better, wear gloves if you have them.