Comments on: Should you feed the birds?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 09 Jan 2018 02:43:51 +0000

In reply to Laura. I tiiddd an. Uus zdcdujuzsd uubssd dyju. ju djduy fun

By: Laura

Laura — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 16:10:08 +0000

Recently, the feeding of birds in my backyard has brought about a collection of specific friends who come 10 times a day for nurishment.First, Red and his wife Ruby show up peeking at me constantly from the nearest shrub awaiting unsalted peanuts. They feed each other and for the most part come together. If I ignore them throughout the day, they whistle at me! Who knew retirment would bring about this type of dependency.Later, the other fine-feathered groups pop over: Big Blue the Bluejay, mourning doves, huge crows, woody the red-headed woodpecker and the sweet sparrows.

By: fontinalis

fontinalis — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 09:42:36 +0000

Lets assume that feeding birds has a impact that is objectively undesirable for a given species or maybe even for entire communities. A case could easily be made for the value to the environment of enhanced engagement and awareness of those who indulge in the practice, which as reported in the study may be a large percentage of the population. In fact, it could be argued that a participatory role of any kind that engenders an awareness of natural processes - and our relation to them - is a prerequisite for any lasting conservation ethos. Large numbers of individual animals are lost to hunters and anglers every year, yet it is the collective force of these two groups (latter supplemented by birders) that created the conservation movement in the first place.I guess my point is that even if the practice of bird feeding where shown to alter community dynamics, it would still be better to promote the practice if only to continually refill the ranks of those who are the prime movers in making sure we have any communities at all.Just my two cents.

By: Eamon Knight

Eamon Knight — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 19:58:14 +0000

Well, I guess I’m guilty (if we’ve decided it’s a sin) of feeding birds in winter — basically, we support a good population of sparrows, chickadees and cardinals. We stop in spring as soon as the grackles show up, because all they do is chase off the other birds and then shit all over the yard.In summer we throw peanuts for the bluejays (and the squirrels who steal from them). Between the feeding and the fishponds, we seem to get a lot of local critters in the yard.

By: Mike Haubrich, FCD

Mike Haubrich, FCD — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 19:46:17 +0000

I think that bird-feeding is a selfish act, designed to bring more birds in view. My mother kept a bird feeder nearby her large picture window, and granted, she would spend time inspecting and identifying birds. It was also nice for her to see them as in the years leading to her death she was too crippled by arthritis to be able to take a walk in the woods.I am mixed about bird-feeding, but I think that people need not pretend that they are doing nature a favor. Wait, it can also be a way to make up for loss of bird habitat.

By: Albatrossity

Albatrossity — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 19:28:32 +0000

Sharp-shinned hawks love feeders.Hey, Sharp-shinned Hawks have to eat too!There are actually quite a few papers on the effects of supplemental feeding on bird survival and fledgling production, including this one dealing with bald eagles. There was another in the Wilson Bulletin about 2000 or 2001, dealing with chickadee populations in Maine. Most of these studies, as I recall (and I am away from my library right now) conclude that supplemental feeding has minimal effects on winter survival or nest success. It can have some effects on population dynamics; the expansion of Tufted Titmouses into the Northeastern US may have been accelerated by feeding. But it will be hard to do that experiment with a control...

By: The Ridger

The Ridger — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 18:37:51 +0000

Sharp-shinned hawks love feeders.

By: Sandra Porter

Sandra Porter — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:49:23 +0000

We took our bird feeder down the day we saw a rat sitting in the tray and chowing down.

By: madhu

madhu — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:32:06 +0000

Amusing that even as I was typing up my comment, sailor jumped in with the “folk wisdom” about cats! That’s such a powerful meme, though…

By: Madhu

Madhu — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:29:49 +0000

I too am struck, like you, Greg, that us academic biologists haven’t tapped into all the natural history lore built up by non-professionals. So when we do examine some of these issues, the findings are sometimes rather obvious – although careful study does yield some interesting insights into processes underlying the natural history “folk knowledge”.On the other hand, there are other elements of such “folk knowledge” that we absorb and propagate rather uncritically – for instance the purported villainy of cats against birds. Have you seen the other recent paper on cat predation (in Diversity & Distributions) which (in my cursory reading) doesn’t quite find the evidence to support substantial negative impacts on birds?I’m working on a post or two on these papers for later this week, once I get a few other things under control. Thanks for bringing them up here – and for pointing to that Science article which I hadn’t seen, and which contains a quote from a good friend and collaborator! Pleasant surprise.