Ingham’s WORLD

WINTER is coming and the birds in my garden seem to sense it. After months of calm, my feeders have become a frenzy of activity, with tits, finches, nuthatches and robins competing for energy-packed sunflower hearts, nyger seeds, fatballs and nuts.

They’re wonderful to watch, a glimpse of a wild world beyond the double glazing.

Brits spend about £210million on bird food every year, says the Pet Food Manufacturers’ Association. I must account for a lot of of that. In winter half of all households with some outdoor space feed the birds. The keenest purveyors of fine food to birds are the recently retired – 65-74-year-olds.

But occasionally a nagging voice asks me if I’m doing the right thing. Birdlovers may be maintaining artificially high bird populations.

The British Trust for Ornithology is already studying whether the 136 per cent surge in goldfinch numbers over the past 20 years is linked to humans putting out their favourite food – nyger seeds and sunflower hearts.

In America The Cornell Lab of Ornithology says the surge in birdfeeding may be helping red-bellied woodpeckers, Carolina wrens and Anna’s hummingbirds spread to colder areas.

But there are perils. Predators such as cats soon work out that feeders provide meals on wings. Another risk is the spread of disease. Trichomonosis, a parasite disease spread in infected saliva, was first spotted in greenfinches in 2005. By 2009 their population had plunged from 4.3 million to 2.8 million – the largest scale mortality of British birds due to infectious disease on record – and the numbers are still falling.

Feeders are perfect for spreading disease. So you could be literally killing birds with kindness.

However, you can reduce these risks by moving birdfeeders from time to time to confuse predators, siting them away from low bushes where Tibbles can lurk and washing them regularly with a weak solution of bleach.

As for distorting bird populations, I’m less convinced. Many birds come into gardens because man has made the countryside a virtual desert. Feeders help redress the balance. Large numbers of songbirds help sustain predators such as sparrowhawks, another group which has suffered at man’s hands. So carry on feeding with a clear conscience.

You can help your feathered friends by joining the BTO’s Garden BirdWatch survey and submitting your records once a week. It normally costs £17 a year but for a while you can join for £10. Membership comes with a guide book and a quarterly magazine.

see bto.org/gbw and quote the discount code GBW10