For the birds

[Montreal Wanderer]

As the winter weather worsens my wife opens a bird restaurant on my patio table. It doesn't take long for customers to arrive, including a senior member of the Roman Catholic Church.



As the word spreads more customers arrive before the food is buried under the snow



Standing room only now with no room for cardinals

[Dujon]

A wonderful series of images, Monty. Mind you, I'm not a supporter of feeding birds or animals during the tough times. There is a good argument for that view: By doing so we bypass Nature's plan and thus tend to make them reliant on our 'hand outs' rather than foraging for themselves. Perhaps I'm misguided in my attitude but, until convinced otherwise, it's live and let die.

[Bruce Rioja]

Perhaps I'm misguided in my attitude but, until convinced otherwise, it's live and let die.

Hmmm. I have some bread that's going stale. I can either feed it to the birds so that they may eat, or throw it in the dustbin and let the little c*nts starve to death. Which should I chose? Live and let die?

[Dujon]

Yes, Bruce. Oh, there's nothing wrong with the odd handout, but to feed them regularly I feel is wrong as it <supposition alert> can lead to the generations to come to rely on a food source (yours) rather than find their own.</supposition alert> Then there's the food itself and how it affects your local wildlife. Perhaps it doesn't apply to your own area, but this link might explain my concerns.

http://www.wpsa.org.au/pdf/school/Feedi ... nimals.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Montreal Wanderer]

Feeding birds around the house does neither the birds nor cats any favours, unless the birds are starving due to adverse climatic conditions. Bird feeders are irresistible magnets to some cats and even if they only watch proceedings from a distance, this may be sufficient to send cat haters into a frenzy. But a far bigger problem is that feeding native birds encourages the larger grain eating parrots, which soon displace most other species like the smaller honey eaters and insect eaters from the vicinity. Even worse is encouraging the large meat-eating birds like
currawongs and kookaburras with handouts of mince and meat.

This could be a valid point, Dujon (though you can tell my wife, who also has three cats, as I lack the nerve). She feeds them bird seed and the squirrels also partake. We have about three months of adverse climatic conditions up here. Probably fewer birds would survive the winter without my wife. No cat in its right mind lives outside in Canada in mid-winter so I don't need to worry about the table being a magnet, and the birds don't seem to be worried by cats watching them from a distance (see below). Finally, Canada is noted for an absence of grain eating parrots, currawongs and kookaburras and, in any case, we don't feed them meat. I don't know enough about the subject to know if feeding the birds negatively affects the ecology or annoys nature by allowing the less fit to survive. As a child I used to watch the tits on the coconuts my mother hung up on the trees. It never occurred to me this might be harmful. However, I'll check what our wildlife government agencies say about the matter.

[TANGODANCER]

A wonderful series of images, Monty. Mind you, I'm not a supporter of feeding birds or animals during the tough times. There is a good argument for that view: By doing so we bypass Nature's plan and thus tend to make them reliant on our 'hand outs' rather than foraging for themselves. Perhaps I'm misguided in my attitude but, until convinced otherwise, it's live and let die.

Dujon, a whole flock of goldfinches, other odd finchess, blue-tits, a robin and four blackbirds, and the owner of the local pet shop where we buy seed etc, wish to voice protest to your post . Bird feeding has become almost a hobby for the wife. She has this big plastic box thing in the garage full of all sorts of bird food. Starlings and Pigeons are a nuisance mind, but our house is marked on the ornithological google earth maps as a pit-stop.

[thebish]

Dujon makes an interesting point that is often strongly debated amongst birders.. The RSPB says that it is a myth that feeding birds over the winter will discourage them from foraging - they reckon that even in the depths of winter they will only take 20% of their food from garden feeding stations and that these can often make the difference between life and death - but they DO advise a lot more care with what is fed in the summer when fledgelings are about..

most experts seem to suggest that the ideal solution is to plant a bird-friendly garden that has all the kind of plants and stuff that birds can forage in (such as teasles for the goldfinches, berries and stuff) - but not everyone is gonna do that...

[Wandering Willy]

If you're worried Monty then continue to feed the birds just let the cats out.

Back to nature - problem solved.

[bobo the clown]

fckg hell Dujon. Talk about over complicating mattters.

They've been feeding the birds at least since Mary Poppins time.

[TANGODANCER]

fckg hell Dujon. Talk about over complicating mattters.

They've been feeding the birds at least since Mary Poppins time.

Aye, but it was only tuppence-a-bag back then Bobo.

[Montreal Wanderer]

If you're worried Monty then continue to feed the birds just let the cats out.

Back to nature - problem solved.

No good, Willy. We only feed the birds in winter and the cats wouldn't venture outside then. We do let them out in warmer weather where they stalk and try to catch crickets and other insects. They are notably unsuccessful in this.

[Montreal Wanderer]

As promised, Dujon, I have looked up the Canadian take on feeding birds. They indicate there are a lot of myths on the subject including this:

Myth: Birds become dependent on feeders.

Fact: Most birds use many sources of food and do not rely on just one. If your feeder happens to go empty, most birds will find food elsewhere, although you'll have to work harder to bring them back to your yard. Loss of natural habitat due to human development does make it more difficult each year for birds to find the necessary food, particularly during the winter months, so providing a ready source of seeds, fruits or suet can give many birds a leg up.

This is not to say the Australian view is wrong for their particular situation, but in urban Canada in winter there seems little harm in feeding the little chaps.

[bobo the clown]

Ornithological Correctness gone mad.

[Bruce Rioja]

Yes, Bruce. Oh, there's nothing wrong with the odd handout, but to feed them regularly I feel is wrong as it <supposition alert> can lead to the generations to come to rely on a food source (yours) rather than find their own.</supposition alert> Then there's the food itself and how it affects your local wildlife. Perhaps it doesn't apply to your own area, but this link might explain my concerns.

http://www.wpsa.org.au/pdf/school/Feedi ... nimals.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And I understand your concerns, Dujon - however, please, allow me to share with you my observations from the past few weeks in my own back garden. I have two bird feeding cages that hang from a pole. A few weeks ago when we had an icy blast I put two 'high protein' fat balls into each. Whilst we were frozen over, the birds would turn up and peck at the balls. Now then, we haven't had frost and ice for the past couple of weeks now, just rain, and they've remained untouched throughout that period. As such, presumably the local bird-life has returned to feeding itself au naturel and will do until the next frost.

[bobo the clown]

Yes, Bruce. Oh, there's nothing wrong with the odd handout, but to feed them regularly I feel is wrong as it <supposition alert> can lead to the generations to come to rely on a food source (yours) rather than find their own.</supposition alert> Then there's the food itself and how it affects your local wildlife. Perhaps it doesn't apply to your own area, but this link might explain my concerns.

http://www.wpsa.org.au/pdf/school/Feedi ... nimals.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And I understand your concerns, Dujon - however, please, allow me to share with you my observations from the past few weeks in my own back garden. I have two bird feeding cages that hang from a pole. A few weeks ago when we had an icy blast I put two 'high protein' fat balls into each. Whilst we were frozen over, the birds would turn up and peck at the balls. Now then, we haven't had frost and ice for the past couple of weeks now, just rain, and they've remained untouched throughout that period. As such, presumably the local bird-life has returned to feeding itself au naturel and will do until the next frost.

No .... they thrived when, by rights they should have perished.

Their rotten corpes would have fed plant life with the resultant insects developing and ... eventually ... after 2 or 3 million years these would have been the sources of camcer treatments which would have saved us all ... had we not died in 3 years time from global warming.

Meanwhile, those surviving birds went on to disable the very guide-dogs which were otherwise about to ensure the marriage of the parents of the next generation's Einstein who was to discover a means of converting water to car fuel.

It's a bugger this putting out a bit of food for the birds.

[thebish]

I think you're getting a teeny bit overexcited, Bobo! Dujon's musings are not without support in the birding world...

[bobo the clown]

Well they are without support at bobo Towers.

[TANGODANCER]

Mrs Tango reckons she watched a programme the other day in favour of feeding the birds over here, because, due to all the rain we've had, the insects just aren't around as they would be normally and the birds are struggling to find food.

[Dujon]

It seems that I've bowled a no-ball. I had no intention to offend but nevertheless stand by my comment. Perhaps there is legitimacy in feeding birds from time to time in some climates. Where I live is what is called a 'temperate' zone. Other parts of the country are quite different - anything from desert heat to tropical rain forest to monsoon country to the snow fields. My abode is located in a relatively narrow strip of development and is surrounded by millions and millions (no, that's not an exaggeration) of trees.

Quite apart from the quality of food offered to birds there is the problem of who eats it. Unfortunately we suffer from the presence of introduced species, some birds and some animals, which in some areas have decimated the local wildlife. Foxes, rabbits, dogs, cats, Indian mynahs, blackbirds, sparrows - that's just a few - compete with our local fauna for food and home. Then there are the introduced trees which offer little in the sense of nesting and food for the locals. An anecdote if I may?

When my wife and I bought the property in which we now live there was little bird life - apart from Indian mynahs - to be seen about the place! Over the years we have removed trees which don't belong here and planted or encouraged those endemic to the area. The result has been (to me) quite startling and, to be honest, pleasing. I cannot remember the last time I saw an Indian mynah in our yard. The garden is not devoid of exotics but it's much better balanced than it was. Wrens and finches are now permanent residents, the local miners are in abundance (they are not called 'noisy' miners for no reason) and the whip birds are regular visitors.

All that has been accomplished without feeding the birds.

Maybe I'm coming across as some form of 'greenie' but, in the sense of protecting and caring for the land in which I live - as opposed to the so-called green politicians - perhaps I am. <heart on sleeve alert> I've lived here since 1955 and am not embarrassed to express my love of this country.</heart on sleeve alert>

[Montreal Wanderer]

You made your case well and documented it, Dujon, so there was no 'no ball'. I do think circumstances (or environments) alter cases and we are "documented" differently in a less than temperate zone. The concept of introduced alien species driving out the locals is an interesting one. It was the same in North America where someone decided to introduce every bird mentioned by Shakespeare. We deplore this sort of thing. However, we don't always consider the same applies to Europeans coming to new worlds to the great detriment of the indigenous peoples.

PS - I bet we have more trees than you do - they just don't provide food all year round.