The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has issued urgent guidance calling on people to stop putting out seeds for garden birds from May 1. However, one expert gardener has revealed a clever alternative to keep birds visiting your garden throughout the year.
New RSPB Guidelines for Spring and Summer
The bird charity introduced new guidelines that came into effect this month and will remain in place until October 31. The RSPB has warned gardeners, bird lovers, and amateur ornithologists against offering birds seeds or peanuts. This is due to concerns that feeding birds during the spring and summer months, despite good intentions, is actually contributing to the spread of disease.
The organisation says birds have suffered a 'worrying decline' in British gardens, partly blamed on an illness known as trichomonosis. The 'highly contagious' disease can spread rapidly wherever birds gather in large numbers, such as around garden bird feeders.
Expert Suggests Bird-Friendly Planting
Writing in her One Garden Against the World Substack, Kate Bradbury suggested considering bird-friendly planting as an alternative. You may already have some of these plants thriving in your garden, unwittingly drawing robins and sparrows back to your borders in search of food.
Bradbury said: "Grow more plants like sunflowers, teasels and ivy, which provide natural sources of seeds and also insects." As plants are smaller food sources with less surface area for diseases to spread and are dotted throughout your garden, they present considerably less risk to British birds.
Additional Plants to Consider
You may also want to plant Zinnias, Echinacea, and Black-eyed Susan alongside shrubs such as Elderberry, Viburnum, and Honeysuckle, which provide nourishment for birds during the summer months, according to Wild Way.
Decline in Garden Birds
The RSPB has drawn attention to concerning data showing greenfinch numbers have crashed by 65% since 1979. The organisation stated: "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."
Seasonal Feeding Advice
The latest RSPB guidance to feed birds seasonally and safely is in place to help "avoid the spread of disease". These steps include regularly cleaning and relocating feeders each week, refreshing bird bath water daily, and steering clear of flat-surface feeding stations like bird tables. Experts also suggest suspending the provision of seeds and peanuts from May 1 through to October 31 as "stopping the spread of disease is a challenge we can't tackle alone".
RSPB advised: "We hope that this nation of bird-lovers will be keen to help garden birds by following our advice to feed seasonally and feed safely. After all, for most people who feed birds, an important motivation is to help birds survive."
