Take down bird feeders this summer to cut spread of avian disease, says RSPB

Charity advises replacing seed and nut feeders, where birds gather, with small amounts of mealworms, fat balls or suet

Garden birds should not be fed seeds and nuts over the summer months, the RSPB has said, in an attempt to reduce the spread of avian diseases.

Bird lovers are being urged to take down their bird feeders between May and October to help birds such as the greenfinch, whose numbers have plummeted after the spread of trichomonosis, a parasitic disease transmitted more easily when birds cluster around feeders in the warmer months.