Knowledge base: Feeding garden birds
Should I still use a bird table?
The current advice is no. The RSPB says “Don’t use bird feeders with flat surfaces, such as bird tables, window feeders and feeders with trays”, and the BTO says flat-surface feeders appear to carry a higher risk of passing disease on than hanging feeders, so they are “best avoided”.
Why flat surfaces are the problem
The concern is trichomonosis, a disease that makes swallowing difficult. The RSPB says sick birds often regurgitate food they cannot swallow, and that birds with the disease often perch on flat surfaces where they try to feed. A table or tray then holds that contaminated food where healthy birds can pick it up.
What to use instead
The RSPB’s bird café page suggests hanging feeders: a plastic feeder with sunflower hearts, a mesh feeder with peanuts, and a mealworm feeder or a small amount scattered on the ground. It also says to put feeders a couple of metres from thick cover and out of reach of ground predators such as cats.
If you scatter food, the RSPB asks that mealworms are eaten or cleared away by dusk the same day.
If you keep a table anyway
Finchwold is not going to tell you the table is safe, because neither source says so. If one is still in the garden, the weekly cleaning and the May-to-October pause on seeds and peanuts both still apply.
Sources
- RSPB: How to help garden birds, opened 14 November 2026.
- RSPB: Feeding garden birds, opened 14 November 2026.
- RSPB: Open a bird café, opened 14 November 2026.
- BTO: Feeding FAQs, opened 14 November 2026.