Feeding birds in the UK?

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has issued new guidance to avoid spreading disease.

✋ Simply put, pause feeding any seeds or peanuts between 1 May and 31 October.

🌻 Also consider bird-friendly planting to provide natural food sources, such as sunflowers, teasels, and ivy.

🚨 The cause of an outbreak of a mysterious and deadly disease in finches in British gardens in 2005 has finally been determined by conservationists.

More guidance here:
https://phys.org/news/2026-04-garden-birds-disease.html

#SolarPunkSunday [edit]
#BirdConservation #BirdFeeding #NativePlants #Biodiversity #HabitatGardening #WildlifeConservation

"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."

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/apr/10/rspb-bird-feeders-nuts-seeds-summer-parasitic-avian-disease

#birds #rspb #bird #birdfeeding

keadamander (@[email protected])

https://pixelfed.social/p/keadamander/936209133731238810

> A Quiet Feeding Spot #photography #helios #helios44 #helios44m #birdfeeder #birdfeeding #gardenbirds #birdlovers #birdwatching #nature #naturephotography #wildlife #wildlifephotography #trees #branches #outdoors #wintervibes #feedingtime #backyardbirds #rustic #forestscene #closeup #photooftheday #earthfocus

One of the regulars at our bird feeder station, a tufted titmouse, checks out the lunch prospects below as snow lightly falls all around.

#birdsofnorthamerica #birds #birdfeeding #titmouse

### Video Description

This YouTube video titled **“Hýl obecný”** (Czech for *Common Bullfinch*) was uploaded by **Michal Jakubek** on March 13, 2019. It has gained over **893,000 views** and around **22,000 likes**. There is no official description, but from the content and the comments it is clear that this is a short clip showing a **round, fluffy bullfinch** eating right after “waking up” from what looks like hibernation — although **bullfinches do not truly hibernate**, the bird appears sleepy and exhausted.

The bird is filmed in close-up and looks like a perfect sphere — users in the comments call it a **“borb”** (#borb, from *bird + orb*), praising its **cuteness**, **carefree attitude**, and even its **“legendary”** status. Some viewers suggest the bird might be **ill** (#avianflu), since it barely moves, has a dirty beak, and shows little self-preservation instinct. The comments are multilingual (#English, #Czech, #Russian, #German), and the video went **viral** thanks to the bird’s comical appearance (#viralvideo, #cuteanimals).

### Bird Description: Common Bullfinch (*Pyrrhula pyrrhula*)

The **Common Bullfinch** is a small finch found across **Europe**, **Asia**, and parts of **Ukraine** (#ornithology, #EuropeanBirds, #UkrainianWildlife), inhabiting forests, parks, and gardens. Key features include:

* **Size**: Body length **17–19 cm**, wingspan about **27 cm**, weight around **25 g** (#smallbirds).
* **Appearance**: A stocky, rounded body with a short, powerful beak. The male has a bright red belly and cheeks, a gray back, a black cap, and white wing and tail markings; the female is duller, pinkish-gray (#birdphotography, #bullfinch).
* **Behavior**: A quiet, trusting bird that lives in forests and often moves closer to human settlements in winter, visiting feeders (#winterbirds, #birdfeeding). Feeds on seeds, buds, and berries; its call is soft and melodic (#birdsong).
* **Trivia**: In Czech, *“hýl”* can imply naivety, as the bird is easy to catch (#etymology). In Ukraine, bullfinches are strongly associated with **winter**, standing out vividly against the snow (#winternature).

Here are a few images of bullfinches for visual reference — especially **plump individuals** similar to the one in the video (#fluffy, #roundbirds).

https://bastyon.com/pureaceton?ref=PDQmXtWJfd8f6fMtwaxzCuqvLpoN3KbS4o

Video: https://bastyon.com/post?s=317b0004a09e35b2fa8e5a50d1ca330096d294477b5d2965b5b5bd5910976ac4&ref=PDQmXtWJfd8f6fMtwaxzCuqvLpoN3KbS4o

How Human Behavior Is Driving Evolution In Wild Birds

"How a simple pleasure, feeding birds, has been translated into a mechanism for rapid evolutionary change in beak length in a British backyard bird species"

#SciComm by @grrlscientist

#ornithology #evolution #BirdFeeding #Birding https://grrlscientist.medium.com/how-human-behavior-is-driving-evolution-in-wild-birds-2c943d8f640c