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The importance of cleaning bird feeders... by Amanda Hopwood

Feeding the birds in the garden is such a pleasure. Being able to watch with fascination, the way some birds hang from by tiny fragile feet, others perch, others swoop in just for a second.  I remember as a child, sitting watching out of the window with my bird book to hand so that I could identify all the colourful little characters that I saw.

However, this scene is not all that it at first appears.  Whilst many birds enjoy the feast that we supply, having so many of them congregate in one area can lead to disease.  Salmonella is one of the most common, along with a type of Pox. In addition disease causing parasites can be transmitted at these sites. One of these; (Finch trichomonosis) is thought to be decimating finch populations.  Greenfinches numbers have fallen from 4.3million in 2005 to only 1.71 million in 2016.

Most of these diseases are spread through an accumulation of bird faeces on bird tables and dirty bird baths.  Poor quality bird feed (particularly peanut containing aflatoxins) and rotting, stale feed can also do harm.

So what should we do?

Certainly I would not suggest stop feeding birds, but regular thorough emptying and cleaning of bird feeders is essential.   Emptying and taking feeders apart and washing them with hot soapy water will rid them of the majority of disease causing organisms, however, a weak bleach solution or poultry disinfectant could also be used. In either case, thoroughly rinse after washing and allow to dry before refilling. 
It is best to wash bird feeders in a clean bucket in the garden, and make sure that you thoroughly wash your hands afterwards as diseases such as Salmonella could be transmitted to humans.
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Other things that you can do to reduce the spread of diseases are to move where the birds are fed to different areas of the garden regularly .  You could also consider placing a washable tray (with drain hole) beneath the feeder to catch spilt seed and faeces.  In addition you could plant as many different plants suitable for birds to feed on around the garden, so that they will naturally move around as the foods come and go throughout the season.  Not only berries, but seed crops such as Teasels, Ornamental thistles, and Sunflowers, and trees such as Birch are good sources of food.  By doing this you may also find that you encourage species of birds to your garden that are shy of coming to a feeder alongside the blue tits and great tits.