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April can be a beautiful month, although we have lots of rain at this time of year, it is also when the flowers are blooming, and more birds start coming into our garden. Spring is the nesting season for birds, and they tend to need more food than usual for their baby chicks to ensure they grow up as strong as possible to survive.

Many gardeners leave out food for birds, and while that is a kind thing to do, it can end up really hurting them, and in extreme cases, kill baby birds, if you are simply leaving out leftovers. A lot of people throw bread on their garden sheds or on their lawns for birds, but the experts at RSPB have warned it is one of the worst things to put outside at the moment. The experts warned: "You should never put out dry, hard foods or bread during the spring or summer months. Parent birds might take these back to their nests and their young can choke on it."

It is a common misconception in the UK that bread is good for birds, as most people have fond childhood memories of going to feed the ducks with it.

However, bread is mostly carbohydrates and does not provide the nutrients they need to stay healthy. When birds eat a lot of bread instead of their natural food sources like insects or seeds, it will make them feel full, but they can actually be malnourished even if they are not hungry.

Bread is bad for baby chicks because of the choking hazard, but if they do not get the nutrients they need at a young age, it can cause a condition called Angel Wing, a deformity they will have all their life.

A small amount of bread is unlikely to harm adult birds at any other time of the year, but they should never get too much of it, and right now in April, it can really harm baby birds and is really likely to kill them outright.

At the moment, parents are more likely to forage in gardens at birdfeeders as they do not want to travel far away from their nests so it is incredibly important to know what to feed birds if you want your local wildlife to survive and stay healthy.

At the moment, the absolute best thing to feed birds is high-protein and soft foods that are easy for them to eat. Birds will really enjoy mealworms or waxworms as they contain crucial nutrients to help give them a lot of energy.

They will also like seeds like sunflower, nyjer or any high-quality mixtures that you can buy at local pet shops. If you cannot afford to buy bird seed, then you can also cut up apples and pears for birds to eat, as they contain lots of vitamins that will really help baby birds.

It is best to avoid suet balls, as they are good for birds but they tend to melt very quickly in hot weather, which can get on bird feathers and impact their ability to fly or clean themselves.

No matter what you are feeding birds they will always really appreciate having a safe place to drink water, to keeping a bird bath functioning is one of the most important ways to keep your local wildlife happy in spring.