Yorkshire Wildlife Trust explains feeding stations removal

WITH the warmer and sunnier weather has come the beautiful sound of birdsong, slowly growing into a chorus from the stalwart solos of those few birds who have kept us company over the winter.

Glancing out of the window of a morning, you might spot a blackbird foraging its way through the undergrowth, a robin singing its heart out on a fence, and – in the next few weeks – chiffchaffs and swifts making a return to our shores.

It may seem contradictory as a result that visitors to Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s reserves in recent months may have noticed the number of artificial bird feeders on-site decreasing. Historically there have been bird feeders present on a number of our nature reserves – Adel Dam, Potteric Carr and North Cave Wetlands to name a few.

The Trust is very aware that these bird feeders are popular with visitors because of the more guaranteed opportunity to spot some of our reserves’ more enthusiastic and colourful birds like goldfinches, great tits and nuthatches, and because of the greater ease they offer for keen wildlife photographers.

Our decision to remove bird feeders from our sites has been made for a number of reasons. We want to encourage natural behaviours and food sources in our wild spaces, and research has shown that having feeders can boost some populations to the detriment of others.

Common species like great tits and blue tits use feeders, but rare and declining species like willow tit, which still has a stronghold here in Yorkshire, do not. Having feeders means we get more great tits and blue tits on our reserves, and these out compete the rarer species like willow tits that really rely on reserves to survive.

Blue tit on feeder. Photo – Gillian Day

In addition, feeding stations have been shown to be a factor in the spread of avian infectious diseases in the UK, such as trichomonosis, salmonellosis, avian pox and papillomatosis.

Where there are strong conservation reasons to keep feeding birds on reserves we will do so – for example, where there are colonies of rarer tree sparrows that do use bird feeders and need support. However, as a general rule we will be removing all feeding stations on our reserves. We would ask visitors to respect this and not bring food onto nature reserves themselves.

Bird feeding at home

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is not asking you to stop feeding birds in your own garden! Our gardens are a vital space for our garden wildlife to find food and shelter over the winter months, and we will still make high quality bird food and feeders available in our Nature Discovery Centres.

We know that watching birds at home is a great joy to many of us, and an important way to connect with nature.

However, we would encourage you to follow some good practice guidelines. Most important is hygiene; feeders should be cleaned weekly, or at least between ‘top-ups’. You should use an animal-safe disinfectant and scrub them clean – make your life easier here by using good quality feeders that can be easily taken apart and put back together again!

It is also worth periodically moving where your feeders are situated. This stops the build up of debris and droppings in one place and makes it harder for predators to target a single spot. Research has shown that flat feeders such as tables and window feeders have a much higher risk of spreading disease, so we would suggest not using this type of feeder. If you do, again it is vital you keep it clean.

Clean drinking water is one of the most valuable things you can provide wildlife in your garden, but again this should be changed daily with the bowl cleaned regularly. It is also worth considering only feeding in late autumn and winter when natural food supplies are lower; in spring and summer, especially when feeding chicks, natural food sources are better.

If you’re looking for more wildlife-friendly gardening tips, please check out our ‘Wildlife Gardening Hub’ webpage; it’s filled with toolkits, guides and more, as well as information on how to apply for our wildlife gardening award.

As we leap into a welcome spring, please continue to enjoy visiting Yorkshire’s wild spaces and keeping an eye out for some of our loveliest and brightest avian friends; whether you’re rambling your way along one of our many miles of reserves paths, or tucked up at home watching the world go by through your living room window.