WHAT TO DO

ADRIAN THOMAS RSPB wildlife gardening expert Matt’s asked about a red ‘bloom’ that’s appeared in his birdbath. I bet half the birdbaths in the country are stained red with what is, bizarrely, actually a green alga called Haematococcus pluvialis! In itself, it doesn’t seem to be a problem for birds, but its arrival is a good prompt that it’s definitely time to clean out your birdbath, so that no real nasties are in there. If pushed, you can use a 1:10 bleach solution and scrubbing brush, as long as you thoroughly rinse the birdbath afterwards, but we recommend Enviroclens (also known as Avicare). With so many diseases that birds can succumb to, it’s that little bit of effort that could prove to be just as important as providing the water in the first place.