This past week I received an email newsletter from the National Audubon Society titled, “When it’s okay (or not) to feed birds.” Feeding wild birds, properly, can provide a benefit to many bird species.
I frequently share with customers my personal philosophy on bird feeding. My reasoning is that we feed birds not because they need us to feed them, but because we want to invite nature into our lives. The hobby of backyard bird feeding provides so much enjoyment to millions of people—not just in the United States, but globally.
You might wonder whether there is a downside to feeding birds. Yes, there is the expense of wild bird supplies and the unwanted mess birds leave behind, but the question I’m raising is whether there is a downside for wild birds. I suspect that if we never fed birds, they would be fine.
So, why do people feed birds? I suppose the answers would vary significantly from one person to another. For me, I like to watch birds, which is stating the obvious. I have been feeding birds for over fifty years! When I was very young, I actually built a bird blind where I could photograph the birds coming to my feeders.
There aren’t a lot of recreational activities one can do in the comfort of one’s home. For example, if you like to golf, you have to go to a golf course. If you like to ski, you have to go to a ski resort. If you like to bowl, you have to go to a bowling alley.
Birding, however, is a hobby you can engage in without ever having to leave your home—except when you need to go buy more bird food, which for most folks is pretty often, based on the amount of wild bird supplies we sell every week.
There have been studies done to research how much food wild birds eat at feeders compared to the amount of food they find out in nature. It has been reported that about thirty percent of a bird’s diet is food eaten at feeders. This means the other seventy percent is food they find out in nature.
When we experience weather events such as is forecasted in the Prescott area this week, providing bird food is a tremendous help to wild birds. Having a reliable, dependable food source provides birds with the food they need for winter survival when wild food sources are buried under a layer of snow.
If you look at the types of birds that occur at backyard wild bird feeders, it is really a small percentage of the total wild bird population. If you reflect on the species you see in your yard, it is probably the same twenty or so species that you see day in and day out at your feeders.
This means there are far more species in the area that are unaffected by our bird feeding activities, as they don’t frequent feeders. Consider the fact that over 360 wild bird species have been seen in the Prescott area over the last fifty years. Most of those species are not backyard birds. Rather, they’re birds that occur out in nature, such as at Watson Lake or Willow Lake, and other native habitats.
Choosing to feed birds is just that—it is a choice. I choose to feed birds because I derive a lot of enjoyment from watching them. If you don’t feed the birds, I challenge you to consider it. It may just change your world.
Until next week, Happy Birding!”
Eric Moore is the owner of The Lookout, in Prescott, where you will find a Hallmark Gold Crown Store, wild bird products, and Vortex and Swarovski optics. Eric has been an avid birder for over 55 years. Eric can be contacted at eric@thelookoutaz.com.
