Spring is on its way and it’s time to clean off the birds’ feeding trays.

There is no need to feed the birds anymore as they are more than capable of finding it themselves.

When birds have been feeding off bird tables for long periods they get over reliable on them, eat plenty then go and, in general, laze about.

This does them no good. I’ve watched rooks, and jackdaws, hanging almost upside down on peanut feeders struggling for the smallest scraps rather than get out into the fields and find food.

That might be alright for the big birds but what I’m bothered about are the smaller ones – sparrows, finches and tits.

Once they have built their nests and laid and hatched their eggs, the birds then go into feeding frenzy almost blindly.

This is where the danger comes in with the food that is left on the tables, such as bone dry peanuts and the corn you get with ‘corn on the cob’.

Under normal circumstances birds that haven’t been feeding off bird feeders would find all the natural food they need, all kinds of small creatures. These creatures’ bodies are full of moisture so there is never any shortage of liquid for the chicks.

Chicks that are being fed straight from the bird table have not got a chance.

It will be rock hard and bone dry, indigestible and almost impossible to swallow.

The parent birds know nothing about this and will keep on feeding till they cannot take anymore.

It’s almost unimaginable to think what those poor chicks will go through.

Bernard Holyoake

Kendal