Your garden should be busy with feathered visitors this summer, and putting food out is a great way to attract a wider variety of birdlife to spot while relaxing on your Charles Taylor garden furniture. Here are a few tips to keep your local birds healthy.
Keep your bird table clean
In warm weather, bird food goes off more quickly, so to avoid any the risk of harmful bacteria forming, check your feeders and bird table daily. Clear away any food that’s been sitting for a few days, and make sure that bird droppings don’t find their way into any of your mixes. Sweep away excess seed mixture and wipe surfaces clean with a mild disinfectant. Moving your feeders every couple of weeks ensures that you avoid a build-up of droppings on the ground in the area below your bird table.
Provide clean water
Whether your water supply is a tray, a bird bath or just a plastic container on the ground, visiting birds will appreciate a clean water source and somewhere to clean their feathers and cool off on hot days. Refresh the water daily, and again, regular washing of the container with a mild disinfectant keeps your water safe for visitors.
Personal hygiene
Wear plastic gloves when cleaning your bird feeders and bird table, and ensure that you wash your hands before and after contact with bird food. Using a pre-prepared seed mix that you can pour straight from the packet minimises the risk, and it’s the best way of ensuring you’re providing the right combination of seeds and nuts.
With any luck, by following these tips, you’ll get to see robins, collared doves, goldfinches, great tits, blackbirds and starlings, and perhaps dunnocks, song thrushes and chaffinches.
