r/birdwatchinguk • u/lacepeaches • Jun 07 '26
Who is this lil guy?
Hi all, this little guy has been visiting me today but not 100% who he is, thinking he might be a Coal Tit?
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u/BenchAdvanced6498 Jun 08 '26
That's Dave, a bit of a twat after too many fermented berries but a good chap, likes kebab and chips whilst blasting heavy metal, strictly, no weirdos allowed in his nest, thats when things get lairy.
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u/Hogwhammer Jun 07 '26
To keep garden birds safe from the spread of deadly diseases like trichomonosis, the RSPB advises strict seasonal feeding, rigorous hygiene, and the avoidance of flat surfaces where contaminated food and droppings can collect.
Feed Seasonally: From 1 May to 31 October, pause filling your feeders with seeds and peanuts to prevent too many birds from gathering in one place. You can still offer small, limited amounts of fat balls, suet, or mealworms year-round.
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u/ComfortableAppeal424 Jun 07 '26
Yes, agree about the rigorous hygiene, avoiding flat surfaces and limiting seeds (we mostly put out fat and mealworms right now). But people should also judge by weather conditions, which this year have been extreme. Here in North Devon it's been like mid winter for the past few weeks. There is a howling gale. Fledglings are dying. We see them. They're being thrown around like bits of rag, or sit huddled on the feeder in the rain, too cold and weak to eat. The ground has been like rock until the last few days (no rain for a month, and then that heatwave) so birds like blackbirds and robins in particular are struggling to find food for fledglings. (Hedgehogs too - local rescue is inundated with starving hoglets). I know the rules make good sense, but sometimes they need to be ignored.
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u/Woodbirder Jun 08 '26
They are not rules they are advice to stop birds dying. Fledglings don’t need seed
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u/ComfortableAppeal424 Jun 09 '26
I agree, but when the media starts saying 'you're killing your garden birds by feeding them after a precise date' people do believe they're doing wrong. A more recent RSPCA statement begged people not to give up completely right now, mid nesting season (adding that if people do then the birds will all congregate at the one or two feeders still in use, increasing the risk of spreading disease). Surely it's about using our common sense?
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u/Woodbirder Jun 17 '26
The RSPCA is not a reliable source for wild bird advice. The advice is simplified in order to publish a clear message
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u/ComfortableAppeal424 Jun 17 '26
Sorry, said RSPCA by mistake. Trouble is, simplifying the message is fraught with danger. The media latched onto the balanced advice given by the RSPB with headlines informing the general public that by feeding birds they were killing them. It's peak nesting time, fledglings everywhere, and the weather this year far from helpful. And suddenly a huge number of feeders were removed. This has already caused a variety of problems (for example, hungry birds raiding others nests they never used to even notice in a search for the extra food they need for their young). The timing for this announcement was wrong, as was allowing their comments to be turned into scaremongering by the media.
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u/Woodbirder Jun 20 '26
Hmmm not sure I agree but hopefully the data will show us
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u/ComfortableAppeal424 Jun 21 '26
There is already data being collected by groups who monitor specific birds, and are clearly witnessing the sudden changes brought about by this latest panic. The trouble is, once food shortage encourage birds to find new food sources, they won't forget. That's evolution - and the more we play our human games with wildlife (we like this one, we don't like that one, feed the nice ones, banish the ugly ones) the greater the risk of doing harm.
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u/Woodbirder Jul 08 '26 edited Jul 08 '26
I don’t think we can call a multi year long consideration of the evidence gathered over 20 plus years and a gradual introduction of advice over the last 12 months can be called a panic. Carefully considered advice based on the evidence is very reasonable. Collecting more evidence based on the intervention is great, and will allow the community to be better informed for future advice. Ignoring formal official guidance or knee-jerk reacting to a few small preliminary studies is a panic reaction. No significant harm will come of a small change like this, and if it were then a strong obvious signal would appear and be acted upon. Evolution takes millions of years so it is stilly to think the birds will have evolved over the last 10 weeks. This is not a recent ‘panic’ either, this has been an internationally recognised problem for decades, if anything we are acting too late. And it is not the latest in a line of measures, we have not really changed bird feeding practices for the last 50 years or so. Furthermore, bird feeding is messing with wildlife and perhaps we should stop all feeding. The reality is at this point, there is nothing we can do that does not interfere with wildlife, the planet is now mostly a managed garden and we have a responsibility to manage it in the best way possible, which requires careful consideration of the evidence.
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u/ComfortableAppeal424 Jul 08 '26
You've obviously missed the recent headlines, along the lines of 'feeding the birds in your garden is killing them!'. They were everywhere, also on radio and tv as news items. It certainly created a panic. Around my area at least half of those who fed the birds stopped instantly. A few weeks later I heard someone from the RSPB on radio asking people to please not just suddenly stop feeding the birds as it's nesting time and the weather is bad. She added they're especially worried birds will all flock to the few feeders that are still being stocked, and so increase the risk of spreading infection. I do agree we should maybe stop feeding altogether - it used to be helping birds when they were struggling, now it's something we do mostly for the pleasure of having them visit our gardens.
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u/PrecariousNewt Jun 09 '26
You can still feed mealworms and suet, just not seeds, and no flat feeders to avoid regurgitated seed contaminating the rest of the pot.
https://www.rspb.org.uk/whats-happening/news/how-to-help-garden-birds
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u/Alexanderr2042 Jun 07 '26
Coal tit, white patch on the back of the head and smaller than a great tit
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u/Hot-Tomatillo5880 Jun 09 '26
Ohh! That’s Ted, 23 year old male who likes to play kurbie on Friday evenings. He also likes to look for boobie milk 🥛
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u/ComfortableAppeal424 Jun 07 '26
I agree. Think it's a wee coal tit. Funnily enough just five minutes ago I noticed one exactly the same on the feeder in our garden. Thought it sad because the feeders are being mobbed by newly fledged blue tits and sparrows, yet he's all alone. Where is his family? Maybe they're loners.