I'm ashamed to say that I let my bird feeders go far too long without being cleaned and as the weather has turned to 'eternally damp' recently, they've been in a sorry state and I'm not surprised at their lack of popularity. I'm too embarassed to post any 'before' pictures, but above are my feeders drying after a very thorough wash. You really do need a bottle brush and an old toothbrush to get all the old grime off. I even needed a carefully chosen stick to prise out the crusty, congealed, mouldy old food to start with in some cases.
A robin conducted a very animated display of disapproval that the window feeder had been taken down, so I will get them back up tomorrow and hopefully the birds will flock back.
If you haven't cleaned yours recently, and if you haven't taken a close look to see what state they're in, I suggest you do so ASAP. I also cleaned the bird bath – don't forget to do the same.
It’s rather sobering to think that you can harm birds, whilst thinking that you are doing them good, if you don’t clean the feeders as they can harbour all sorts of diseases. A timely reminder, thank you.
This is a helpful reminder. It is really necessary that we clean our bird feeders from time to time in order to avoid seeing ourselves in unnecessary situations.