I'm going to feed the birds all year round. Is this ok?

Wonderful photos! I need a better camera but would have to cut down on feeding to afford one. Maybe later in the year.

I feed all year round too. I do stop putting out ground food in the summer because I have a small garden. The lawn needs to recover from the winter/spring visitors; I take my cue from the birds.

When I see the blackbirds on the fence with a beak full of caterpillars, I know there is enough insect life available to support the chicks. If it's cold and wet and I see or hear the birds looking for food, I'll put some out.

I continue to use hanging feeders for peanuts, sunflower hearts and fatballs. I stop putting out fatballs if we have a hot spell but I have noticed that the RSPB  branded ones say they can be supplied year round.

I think it comes down to hygiene and weather. If there are sick birds around, everything needs to be clean. If it is hot and humid and fungus starts to affect my vegetables, then feeding birds becomes much more problematical. I found birds avoiding my garden if I have downy or white mildew - so I stop putting out food which might become affected by mould.

Observation is the key........ and the time to do it, of course.

I too feed all year round and as in the above post 'observation is the key'!

I am finding suet and fat products are very popular at the moment and sunflower seeds not quite so,probably because of a change in the birds visiting.

If natural food is abundant I will put less out.

..as for peanuts I don't worry about them because I find no birds in my garden will touch them!!

I had a female woodpecker on mine today - first time I've seen her for ages. Maybe I spend too much time looking out of the kitchen window.......

In normal circumstances there is no valid reason to feed any wild creature. Think about it,  we call them "Wild" so natural hunting and scavenging is what they should be doing. All this manufactured "bird food" is often not native to the UK (e.g. peanuts) and the less said about processed food the better - it's not designed for wild creatures, and God only knows what rubbish is in these "fatballs" and so forth. I know its great to see a variety of wild birds and animals in our gardens but when Man pokes his ugly nose into things there is usually trouble. Remember the old saying "First Do No Harm".

Apart from really severe times, lets let nature look after its own.

I would also ask that RSPB dissociates itself from commercial circuses that openly advertise themselves as wild bird feeding centres.

Most areas are now so urbanised that there are not many places where wildlife can actually be left to its own devices and undisturbed.

The birds come to gardens because they know there is food to be had.It is hardly a circus as the birds are still wild and come of their own accord.

I have spent several years trying to get birds to come to my garden and am now reaping the rewards.

I still have quiet times when there is plenty of natural food as the birds are the ones that make the decision as to where they will feed and not me!

I also feed my hedgehogs which are in serious decline,if left alone I would see none and they could vanish from the countryside.

Helping the birds and other wildlife with food engenders a love of nature and surely it is better to take an interest than to not bother?

In an ideal world there would be food available everywhere for every creature including humans,sadly we do not live in an ideal world.

The circuses I referred to are those horrendous commercial sites not private gardens. I wonder if your hedgehogs are in serious decline because of your feeding!

Primum non nocare

Firstly I cannot see the difference between a commercial feeding site and a private garden,food is food no matter where it is.

Hedgehogs are in decline for various reasons mostly to do with loss of habitat and if I and others did not feed the hedgehogs and provide shelter we would probably have none at all.

It would be nice to be able to let wildlife alone in its own habitat and do its own thing but is rather a naive way of thinking in our modern world.

Sorry but it's not me that's naive!

There is no such thing as a truly "wild" or "natural" environment in the UK, almost all of Europe and many other parts of the world. In the UK, humans and the animals that have chosen to live alongside us have been altering the environment since the end of the last Ice Age.

Before you use the terms "wild" or "natural" you should first define what you mean by these terms both as descriptions of the environment you are talking about and the period in historical time which you are using as a base line from which you define zll developments as "unnatural".

As for excluding all non-native plant foods from the diets of birds - you will have to again define the point in time after which you define introductions as "non-native" and then start encouraging all gardeners and farmers to stop growing all plants introduced after your chosen point.

YOUR diet will become singularly tedious! But maybe that's what we should be aiming for!!

Jenni

Hi all

Firstly, due to some comments on this thread I thought a reminder about the terms and conditions of posting to this site was required, please take heed of the guidance below.

'Be aware that users will have a wide range of interest, experience and knowledge - so please treat everyone with the respect and courtesy you would expect to receive yourself.

We appreciate that not everyone shares our views all of the time, and ask you to respect that too - this is a community to share enthusiasm for nature and helping to protect it. Please do not use it to air claims of personal or organisational grievance.'

Lets keep this thread respectful and on topic.

Feeding wild birds the right foods in a responsible way year round can indeed be beneficial for them, don't just take our word for it, the BTO say so too. Feeding hedgehogs is also encouraged as they are in drastic decline across much of the UK, however there are lots of other ways to help them as there are with birds such as creating the right habitats for them.

 There is no evidence to suggest feeding them the correct food can be linked with the decline of birds or hedgehogs. Hedgehogs have faced a number of issues in recent times including increased traffic, loss of natural space and connectivity between gardens in urban areas and increased use of agro-chemicals in the garden and wider landscape reducing the numbers of their prey and unfortunately through poisoning. Have a look here to find out more about the threats and tips onhow to help them in your garden can be found here.

If any evidence can be highlighted that shows feeding of wild birds or hedgehogs is linked to declines, please post a link to the information so we can all see it as it would be interesting.

Best wishes