| Re: Are we over-feeding birds?
I see we`ve got a few posts from the CC does not exist camp. You don`t have to call it climate change (it may not be) but one thing is certain its getting warmer compared to previous decades.
Re feeding the birds; I sometimes throw a handful of premium seed on the top of shed but only for my own selfish desire to see what comes down.
I do think that some people overfeed with the best of intentions but I wonder how many of those even consider the bigger picture. If birds have problems we should do our best to disturb their enviromment as little as possible and let them deal with it. This year I`ve seen evidence of a sharp downturn in Greefinch numbers and quite a few Chaffinches with fungal/mite infections of their legs and feet even some who have lost a foot. Is it caused by bad hygene at the feeding stations? I don`t know for sure but us lot have a lot to answer for.
While I`m on my soapbox; don`t you find it really annoying when horticultural pundits glibly advise on a plethora of chemicals to treat many situations in the garden. When 9 times out of 10 the problem will resolve itself eventually anyway. The problem is us, not the pests. If you plant something exotic that, for example, slugs like and it gets devoured, learn from that experience and plant something else.
I`ll stop now,
Pete  |