Are we over-feeding birds?

[Rob Jones]

I don't think anyone would disagree that CC is consistantly producing much milder winters so does anyone think that as a result wild birds will lose their natural instincts for finding natural food sources by offering them an easy source by way of bird feeders?

Regards

Rob

[Kayleigh]

I find that if there is sufficient food in the wild like when there are berries on trees, seed in the fields the birds tent to eat that and eat less from my bird table. I believe in winter they they need extra help. The RSPB also say to feed them all year round now.

[naturelover]

Hi and welcome to the site,in answer to your question i dont think wild birds will lose their instinct for hunting their own food, because that is born in them,we just help in the winter when there is not many insects about,not only that if every house had bird feeders i would say yes not a good idea, but there are lots of familys that dont feed the birds as they dont like the mess they make,in my neighbourhood as far as i know i have seen one other person that feeds the wild birds so i think its quite safe to say that its fine.

[Seajay]

We may be but the important thing is to keep the food going once you start especially in Winter, and keep the feeding area clean. Its is my experience also that when natural food is available numbers of birds visiting drops.

[Jon_C]

Hi,
Firstly I would disagree that CC is producing increasingly milder winters but that is a seperate argument.
I do not think that birds will lose their natural instinct for hunting wild food because they are fed from bird tables. If you look in your garden and watch the birds you will continue to see them looking for food in bushes, on the ground, in trees even when their is food available in feeders. It is just another natural source of food and is treated as such. Birds descend feed for a whilst and depart to explore other food sources. They do not just descend, stuff themselves, fly or hop to the nearest shelter and wait until they are hungry again. In the same way that they do not just sit in a holly bush eat all the berries and then move on.
Perhaps the question is does feeding birds cause an increase in those birds which are most able to exploit this sort of food source, to the detriment of other species?

Jon

[Seajay]

Originally Posted by Jon_C

Hi,
Firstly I would disagree that CC is producing increasingly milder winters but that is a seperate argument.
I do not think that birds will lose their natural instinct for hunting wild food because they are fed from bird tables. If you look in your garden and watch the birds you will continue to see them looking for food in bushes, on the ground, in trees even when their is food available in feeders. It is just another natural source of food and is treated as such. Birds descend feed for a whilst and depart to explore other food sources. They do not just descend, stuff themselves, fly or hop to the nearest shelter and wait until they are hungry again. In the same way that they do not just sit in a holly bush eat all the berries and then move on.
Perhaps the question is does feeding birds cause an increase in those birds which are most able to exploit this sort of food source, to the detriment of other species?

Jon

Do we upset the balance and create problems? I hope not. I suspect if it wasn't for gardens and people who care for wildlife the British bird species table would be in dire straits.

[Blackbrook Eye]

It seems to me that feeding wild birds at feeding stations, whether at home or in the countryside will become even more important as time goes on, as most of the birds that visit bird feeders, tables, etc. tend to be seed eaters, and due to many factors, such as the modern idea of making silage instead of hay, ploughing stubble fields as soon as the harvest is over, and the general loss of flower meadows reduce the natural wild food stores of these birds, they will become more dependant on artificial feeding. As far as becoming totally dependant on handouts, I cant see it happening, but what has happened to House sparrows over reacent years, at one time they were the most numerous birds in my garden, for the past few years I have hardly seen one, have they gone altogether or are they feeding elsewhere ?

[Xanadu2]

Originally Posted by Blackbrook Eye

It seems to me that feeding wild birds at feeding stations, whether at home or in the countryside will become even more important as time goes on, as most of the birds that visit bird feeders, tables, etc. tend to be seed eaters, and due to many factors, such as the modern idea of making silage instead of hay, ploughing stubble fields as soon as the harvest is over, and the general loss of flower meadows reduce the natural wild food stores of these birds, they will become more dependant on artificial feeding. As far as becoming totally dependant on handouts, I cant see it happening, but what has happened to House sparrows over reacent years, at one time they were the most numerous birds in my garden, for the past few years I have hardly seen one, have they gone altogether or are they feeding elsewhere ?

Next door gets the sparrows, I don't! We buy the same food from the same place, but it's funny how many species of birds apparently can't fly over the fence! I've been an ornithologist all my life, but I haven't figured it out yet!

The first year I fed the birds here I had loads of siskins. I wish they would come back! But birds here are generally very reluctant to eat most kinds of bird food put out for them unless the weather is really hard.

Oh, and it better be the most expensive food you can get, because they don't like cheap substitutes!

[Rob Jones]

The general concensus is no. That's good then I'll put more out

[GerryNick2]

Originally Posted by Rob Jones

I don't think anyone would disagree that CC is consistantly producing much milder winters so does anyone think that as a result wild birds will lose their natural instincts for finding natural food sources by offering them an easy source by way of bird feeders?

Regards

Rob

I don't think this poses a problem. From my observations if there is an abundance of natural food the birds seem to give this preference over the bird feeders.

There was a wealth of berries in our garden this year which in turn reduced the frequency of replenishing the bird feeders.

Gerry