Anyone else feeling sad about not feeding the birds?

[PinkCatCushion]

Anyone else feeling sad at not feeding the birds?
I understand the new advice, and can see the importance of removing bird feeders and only feeding in the winter, but I will miss feeding them so much.
Feeding and watching birds visit my feeders brings me genuine joy. It lifts my spirits. It’s got me interested in nature. I look forward to feeding them each day. I’m REALLY going to miss feeding them.

https://www.rspb.org.uk/whats-happening/news/how-to-help-garden-birds

Oh, just feed them

Maybe put smaller amounts of bird food out??? They need the extra help right now with the babies x we put bird food on the flat shed roof, its disappearing really fast x

You mean with bird friendly plants as advised in the link?

Bird feeders full of peanuts are the bird equivalent of a really filthy McDonalds

it says it’s fine to feed them until
the end of April, and from May onwards it’s fine to offer mealworms and fatballs still, so surely you can still see birds?

Don’t be ridiculous! They need the protein and fat. Nothing in that article says anything of the sort. It also doesn’t say not to feed them except in winter, it says don’t in summer!

Did you actually post a link you didn’t read?! Mad.

Also I think wild animals spend a lot of time hungry and expend a lot of energy getting fed, it really is survival mode, and why not give them some help here and there. I agree some nuts here and there is fine. I don't really feed birds but occasionally when I do I just throw bread out

A, you shouldn't feed them bread and b, the spreading of this awful disease is decimating Greenfinches. Yes OP I feel sad too but we have to protect them

A. I rarely do it I don't think it will do any harm
B. What awful disease ?

Trichomonosis is a highly contagious disease and can spread where birds gather in large numbers such as at bird feeders.

According to the RSPB, you should avoid feeding birds bread because it lacks essential nutrients, acting as an "empty filler" that can lead to malnourishment, starvation, or developmental issues.

In the winter we feed, in the spring/summer dry periods we have bird baths, regularly cleaned and topped up. Love seeing the birds take a bath, some days they queue up. We have a couple at ground level so other wildlife can have a drink.

We've had to stop as we got rats ,I do miss it but we have lots of bird friendly plants,/ shrubs so they still come into the garden.

I put out suet pellets and fruit bread crumbs and scatter them over the lawn, also have a bird table, so put a handful on there.

Yes, me. I've been trying for three years to get the birds back into the garden after the huge clematis on the party fence was taken down by builders. The birds just left and hardly any came into the garden so recently, I started putting the bird feeders back up with peanut bits, peanuts and sunflowers and I have been getting them back gradually. Blue tits that I hoped would use a bird nest box, they haven't but maybe next year, more sparrows, blackbird pair and my two pigeons that I've fed each morning for the past two years or so.

I will stop the feeders on 1st May but will continue to feed the pigeon pair outside the utility room on the patio.

I'm pretty sure that some years back, the recommendation was to feed them all year round, don't suddenly stop putting food out, I don't think I'm making that up, someone will tell me I am sure if I am.

Always putting food in the same place ie a flat roof is precisely the conditions that cause problems, as I understand it.

Exactly. We've been advised not to feed bread for about 30 years! This is not new advice.

Oh no this is a shame. If I haven’t put food out by 10 am the birds start tapping on my windows! I’ll be so sad not to feed them

If you really want birds, plant local plants, minimise pesticides and herbicides, and keep cats out.

I wish my neighbours would stop feeding the birds! It has attracted rats.

@SharonEllis can I ask why?? Is it because of lack of cleaning ? The roof is regularly washed by the rain and the birds leave little food behind

They’ve been talking about this for a while. So I’ve been planting bird friendly plants in my very small garden. I did leave out mealworms but a rat found them. It’s not only the hygiene of the cleaners it’s some birdspecies being better at accessing the food so the populations get unbalanced. It’s a multi milllion pound industry now…and about twice as much bird food is being sold as there are birds to eat it (countryfile).

But the advice doesn't say not to feed them. It says feed small amount from 1st may of certain foods. We are still putting our mealworms out or we get judgy looks from the blackbirds and robins 😂

Bless them. You’ve got no choice but to continue feeding them really. You can’t ignore their hungry little faces begging at the window.

I’ve invested in mealworms! But apparently you should feed them from the ground. So we also had to get one of those ground-feeder cages. No customers yet but it’s just day two.