Can you 'over-feed' garden birds?

[poppingjay]

I know it might seem a silly question to ask, especially since this past winter has been so hard but the family of sparrows that inhabit my buddleia bush literally eat all day long. Now don't get me wrong I have no trouble whatsoever refilling my feeders a couple of times a day..... i was just hoping that I'm not making them lazy.

[Synn]

There was a photo in a newspaper once of a woodpigeon that had landed on a bird table and ate so much it was to heavy to fly away, so it had to wait until it could fly.

So think it is possible, only if the bird is very greedy though

[LRM]

I was thinking the same thing myself and had composed a letter for this site, so rather than starting a new thread, I hope you don’t mind if I tag my thoughts on to your thread.

Is feeding the birds making them lazy fat and unable to fend for themselves? It used to be that we were told only to feed them in the winter and to stop in the summer. Then it was advised to feed them all year around. A few years ago a housing estate was built around us so I carried on feeding them all year around. Before that we were giving them 2 small cans of seed a day. Now we are feeding them litre tubs 2 - 3 times a day. As soon as the young fledge they are brought straight to the bird table. Our garden whilst not very large is bigger than most gardens around here. (ie 5 - 6 tennis courts size?) with trees, shrubs, privet, brambles and is rather out of control now. I call it a wildlife garden.

More and more houses are being built here with the intent of connecting a small village with the adjacent town. So our semi rural property will soon be in the middle of a larger town. And I don’t think it can support all those birds without my help.

The birds are supposed to feed their young on insects and caterpillars but butterflies are extremely rare, a few appear in July August. There may be some moths around, I suppose, and probably insects in the trees that I can’t see.

My father is 92 and at sometime most of the property will be sold, possibly redeveloped, leaving only my small garden, and I will not be able to afford to be so generous to them.

I do wonder if they are becoming too dependent on handouts. I was looking at the sparrows and blackbirds who having fed were sitting in the trees and wonder what they do with all that extra time on their ‘wings’, with not having to hunt all day for food. Will they become lazy and apathetic like humans and overfed pets? Some times I leave their feeders empty for awhile but they all flit from tree to tree and feeder to feeder, apparently unwilling or unable to look elsewhere.

The blue tits sometimes seem to search the branches, and the blackbirds will take worms when someone digs the garden in breeding time. But the other day I moved a tub exposing a lot of worms and the blackbirds ignored them and they wriggled away.

The wrens always feed themselves and I see the visiting starlings poking around in the grass.

Still with spring coming they are now singing and warbling and will soon get busy feeding babies, hopefully finding some insects for them from somewhere.

[poppingjay]

Hello LRM I found your post fascinating and I suspect there are many similar circumstances. It just goes to show what a precarious existence it is for our wildlife, certainly in my area the new housing developments aren't geared towards supporting much wildlife despite having rural sounding names like 'The Grange'.

Forgive the brief post but i should have been in bed at least an hour ago

[SheffieldLass]

I don't think feeding the birds lots of food will make them obese. As they have to fly, too much food makes them heavier and they then have to expend more energy to fly. A full stomach also makes them slower flying and more vulnerable to birds of prey. Research has shown they adjust the amount they eat depending on whether there is likely to be food around all day, in which case they pace themselves during the day. If there is a only a small amount available, and meagre pickings otherwise (and the weather adverse) then they will eat more at one sitting. They seem to make judgements on the risks of predation versus the risks of starving.

It may make them lazy ... well give them more free time to preen, sing, and do the things they do when they are not needing to look for food.

I have noticed that blackbirds like a varied diet, will search out worms etc even if there is plenty of food out for them. Whilst there was thick snow on the ground they really homed in on the food put out for them, but as soon as the snow had melted enough to see patches of soil and leaves they didn't waste any time before searching for worms. It looked as if they were craving a bit of fresh wiggly meat, had missed it. And my blue tits are keen on their live food as well as the seeds and nuts, and in the breeding season whilst the adults may eat seeds put out for them, they feed their young caterpillars and other insects, and only when they have fledged do they give them some seeds. They seem to know instinctively what is good for them.

It may well build up population numbers that are in excess of what the habitat would sustain without supplementary food.

You are overfeeding the birds if food hangs around and goes mouldy

[BloomingMarvellous]

Why are these Bird feeders made so big? maybe, so you can just fill them up.