Overview
- Plastic-net fat balls can trap birds and be fatal, with inexperienced juveniles especially vulnerable.
- NABU recommends net-free feeders, spirals and loose suet as safer alternatives to hanging fat balls in nets.
- Collect and discard empty nets to avoid garden litter that can degrade into microplastics.
- Site feeders to reduce hazards — 1.5–2 meters high, freestanding and away from glass — and clean with hot water every few days.
- Provide species-appropriate foods and fresh shallow water, and note that experts remain divided on whether to feed birds in winter at all.