Watch the birdie

I enjoyed Monty’s feature about our gardens in winter ( Winter welcome, December issue), particularly how he provides vital food for birds that visit. I, too, welcome many garden birds throughout the year. However, I was disappointed that a very important aspect of feeding was missing and that is hygiene. It is imperative that we clean and disinfect feeders and feeding stations regularly. There are several diseases that affects our birds but Trichomonosis, commonly known as canker, is spread via dirty feeders and is deadly. Greenfinches and chaffinches are particularly susceptible.

Christine Westerback, by email

We say We agree that keeping bird feeders clean is very important. For more information on looking after birds in your garden, see our bird special starting on page 74 and see the results from our survey on page 21.