Garden birds should not be fed seeds and nuts over the summer months, the RSPB has said, in an attempt to reduce the spread of avian diseases.

Bird lovers are being urged to take down their bird feeders between May and October to help birds such as the greenfinch, whose numbers have plummeted after the spread of trichomonosis, a parasitic disease transmitted more easily when birds cluster around feeders in the warmer months.

In new guidance, the RSPB is advising people to “feed safely and feed seasonally” by removing all bird feeders filled with seeds and peanuts and instead offering small amounts of protein such as mealworms, fat balls or suet from 1 May to 31 October, since they tend not to attract clusters of finches and protein is useful for the birds to feed their chicks.