I've been trying to get the right bird feeder for my garden for months. From my hanging cage that attracts unwanted attention from squirrels, to the smaller wooden box that keeps falling down, to the DIY one my son made that came under attack, I'm not having much luck.
So, I turned to my old faithful — a flat bird feeder that balances safely upon a pole and provides a roof to shield the food from the elements. Only, it turns out, that's exactly what I shouldn't be using. While I thought I was doing something good for my local wildlife with the most stable option, in fact, using a flat bird feeder could be having the opposite effect. And if you're using one too, you might want to rethink it.
Why you shouldn't be using a flat bird feeder
Bird tables feel like one of the most common ways to feed birds that are local to your area and that's because they are. But, conservation charities like Britain's Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) strongly advise against them and there's a good reason for it.
According to the RSPB, it's actually a hot bed for disease, specifically finch trichomonosis, a highly contagious variant that's easily spread around bird feeders. And the problem with flat bird feeders in particular is that the feed sits out in one spot for extended periods of time where birds continuously visit and revisit it.
RSPB specifically advises: "Don't use bird feeders with flat surfaces, such as bird tables, window feeders and feeders with trays. Research has confirmed that there's a higher risk of disease spreading on flat surfaces, where contaminated food can collect."
Leaving diseased food or droppings on a flat surface can have devastating consequences for your garden birds, so instead of using flat bird feeders, you should be avoiding them.
What you should do instead
Fortunately, both the RSPB and The National Audubon Society have abundant advice on what you should do instead if, like me, you're struggling to find the right solution for feeding your garden birds.
The National Audubon Society recommends that to prevent the spread of illness, you need to follow three simple steps: "Clean feeders regularly, tidy below the feeder and share the wealth." The National Wildlife Health Center advises that to clean them, you should make "a solution of nine parts water to one part bleach," making sure to dry the bird feeder fully before putting it back out.
Tidying below it is also important, as well as to "share the wealth" by spreading out food among a few feeders to hopefully reduce the chance of all of them becoming contaminated.
Overarching all this advice, the RSPB says that what you should really be doing is to "help birds find their own food." It recommends instead that you should be helping garden birds to discover foods by planting bird-friendly plants in your garden, including sunflowers and ivy.
If you want to use bird feeders, it seems choosing hanging ones are your best option, as long as you're keeping them clean and moving them around regularly so that food build-up doesn't occur. I'll just make sure that next time I buy a hanging bird feeder, it's one that deters squirrels.
