Every day my bird table is visited by house sparrows, dunnocks, great tits, blue tits, a robin, a wren, starlings, magpies, jackdaws, wood pigeons, collared doves and more recently long-tailed tits. Every one is a joy to behold, especially in spring when the young birds appear and are fed by their parents.

I am not saying this is a peaceful event, because there is a lot of squabbling and mid-air face-offs but seeing the birds in your garden is great for your mental health.

Spring and summer are important times for birds, and there is normally plenty natural food around – just ask the worms in my garden. Parents need to build up their strength and their chicks need feeding, so sometimes a little complementary food is helpful.

We feel that we are contributing to the health of the birds and getting plenty of love back in return. 

However, there are some concerns about diseases affecting a good number of our beautiful birds, with evidence pointing towards horrible bugs, like trichomonsis, being carried from bird table to bird table.

Earlier in spring, conservation organisations were stressing the need for keeping bird tables, feeders and baths clean. And from today RSPB is suggesting only feeding peanuts and seed from November to April and removing flat bird feeders, where lots of birds can congregate.

In late summer I literally get dozens of starlings on my bird table and they leave a lot of mess, which needs cleaning up fairly quickly.

This doesn’t mean stopping feeding altogether but using fat, suet and mealworms in moderation in your feeders in spring and summer.

Today’s announcement will cause outrage, as everything does these days, but if you think about it, it shouldn’t be that much of a problem.

The thing is we can all think more about feeding the birds in our garden. Pretty much planning, just like you do with your plants and flowers. Spend 15 minutes cleaning your bird table every week or so. Flat bird feeders and bird tables are actually more difficult to clean, because you need to let them dry.

 Plan their diet a little better, rather than buying a bag of seed and throwing it onto the bird table as you head out with the dog for his walk.

I have changed my feeding regime, with fruit first thing for the blackbirds and then filling fatball holders later on.

Our birds give us so much, adding colour, energy and song to our garden, surely we can spend a couple more minutes a day making sure they are safe and well. We all benefit.