I've written about my feeding the birds around here several times. This lovely chickadee comes to visit me often and is mostly interested in the feeder that has black oil sunflower seeds. (Click any picture to enlarge.) I also have two suet feeders which are visited by woodpeckers, flickers and bushtits, and occasionally the chickadees.
My two nyjer-filled "socks" are only visited by the goldfinch, and they also have an upside-down feeder that is theirs alone. Occasionally a nuthatch will show up. This winter brought the return of the juncos, who left for the summer and fall. On the ground I scatter something called "premium no-grow," with shelled sunflower seed pieces, peanut hearts, and other good stuff. The juncos and the sparrows all come in a flurry when they see I've put this out, since it doesn't last long. The jays and the squirrels think I put it out for them. Here's a jay on the porch eating the no-grow.
I love to feed the birds. It gives me such pleasure to see them, and I know some of them because of unusual markings or, in the case of that favorite sparrow, a broken wing that differentiates him from the others. It means I spend a fair amount of money on birdseed, and it requires me to clean up after them so nobody gets sick, including us. The squirrels and I have an ongoing battle to keep them from eating everything in sight. Even though I chase them away, I would miss them if they didn't come around. Here's the squirrel getting ready to launch onto the porch from the tree.
If I didn't feed the birds, I wouldn't have to chase the squirrels away, because they would soon discover there is nothing here of interest. They would go bother the other people who feed the wildlife. But my dilemma is this: is it wrong to feed the birds? They have become dependent on my handouts, there's no question. They will probably lay more eggs this spring because of me.
It worries me a little because I want to be a good citizen of the planet, of the earth, and I have been wondering lately if my desire to watch the birds up close has been fair to them. What do you think?
:-}
I don't think it's wrong to feed them; you're simply providing an easy to find food source. Perhaps there are more birds that have survived the winter than otherwise would have, but I don't believe that's a bad thing. Plus, they bring you joy. They bring me joy, as well, because I love seeing the pictures of your feathered flock!
ReplyDeleteThis is a real dilemma for me as well. My son refuses to feed the birds for this very reason. He says it makes the birds dependant on humans. I've read other things that say we should feed them in the winter when the food supply is short, or when there's bad weather.
ReplyDeleteIn Texas our backyard was a bird haven with dripping bird baths, trees, vines, etc. Because of the wet climate in the Pacific Northwest I didn't find feeding the birds all that pleasant and stopped. It's a job to keep the feeders from having mold. It's hard to keep the seed dry.
When I had a backyard the clean up didn't seem to be a problem but feeding from an apartment is sometimes a problem. I miss seeing the birds.
Your pictures are wonderful.
Even though I feed the birds too, I think it is a disservice to them. It alters their feeding patterns. I enjoy watching them and having them visit my feeders is the only way I can get that opportunity.
ReplyDeleteI hope so, because we do the same thing! I read an article once and it said the earth wouldn't have nearly as many birds up north if humans didn't feed them to have them live through the winter--and that they are needed to eat the bugs and pests on the crops...
ReplyDeleteThat jay is GORGEOUS! I have never seen a black and blue one before, what kind of jay is it?
I don't know the answer to this one as I have wrestled with it much myself...haven't put a bird feeder up at this house because of my concern about the birds becoming dependent...but have a bird bottle for nesting and a birdbath...When you get it figured out, let me know...As always, your posts are filled with beautiful photography!!!! Such a delight to share these ...Thank you! I've truly missed your blog!!! Your header is gorgeous! Stumbled upon your webpage today as well...the one you created with your Mac...and I'm in absolute awe!!! So lovely! Have missed you! Love you, Janine XO
ReplyDeleteSuch a tough question. I usually put out seed about now when some of the migrants are coming back and we can get hit with ice storms. But I try to stop before the fall migration so our birds do actually go south, then put out seed before a predicted snow storm for the ones that don't migrate.
ReplyDeleteI think you're fine to put out seed though. So many animals are now intertwined with humans, it's just another branch of evolution forming with you on it :)
About that jay. From my bird book: "Most common in dense coniferous and evergreen hardwood forests, Steller's Jays regularly visit backyards in the foothills and lowlands, especially in winter, often descending upon feeders in search of peanuts and sunflower seeds. Inquisitive and bold like all jays, these crested opportunists are not averse to raiding the picnic sites and campgrounds of inattentive occupants for food scraps, but they rarely allow hand feeding the way Gray Jays do."
ReplyDeleteThat's a Gray Jay that's eating nuts from my hand in the banner picture!
Birds visit my patio every day to eat the leftover Purina Cat Chow that my 2 cats leave behind. Saves me the trouble of sweeping the food away.
ReplyDeleteI have a hard time with this as well. At our home in Reno we had all the same types of feeders with literally hundreds and hundreds of birds each day. But when we sold the house and I wanted to make sure the new owners kept feeding them, I realized they may not want to do that, and I had made the birds dependent. That being said, we did put out one feeder (the sunflower seeds) this year during the winter, but our only guests were squirrels and a couple of blue jays. We heard what we think were raccoons on the deck last night and a big crash - they had knocked over a flower pot from the railing. So we took the feeder down today, despite snow on the ground. The neighbors shoot the squirrels and the raccoons, so we don't want to be a part of their undoing.
ReplyDeleteI guess I would have to say feeding in the winter is good, but maybe we need to let them fend for themselves in the summer and fall. I have to admit I love your pictures and live vicariously through you. I just don't know that there is a right and wrong answer here.
I think your pictures are just awesome. The detail...well I could count the feathers on that Jay !
ReplyDeleteI feed the birds as you know, and I truly love to watch the squirrels, but thay are SO destructive. A few weeks ago, they tor the vent off my potting shed, and went inside. They chewed the lace curtains, the lamp wires, the seeds, anything they thought was fare game they chewed. We have lights running up the trunk of the old tree and through the canopy they chewed those also.
I stopped feeding the birds for a short while, but they continued coming to the feeders, and I felt guilty so not sure what the answer is.....'spect they are all God's creature's in the long of it.
DJ you are an angel to them that's why they keep on coming back to you. If only I were a bird I would read your blog and fly close to you so I won't get hungry.
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I feed them and don't worry about it. When the snow is gone and the earth warm, I stop. They don't hang around waiting for a handout. Besides, the birds I feed do not migrate anyway, and on cold winter days, where else are they to get their food?
ReplyDeleteLovely pics, Jan
I leave perennials with seed pods in place so birds can nibble on them over the winter. We just started feeding birds this winter; I figure it's not that different. There must be other sources of food around, because some days we see lots of birds and other days not many at all.
ReplyDeleteI love your photos, the squirrel of course I think is adorable. It's good to see the Steller's Jay, I had a yard full of them when we lived in Vancouver.
ReplyDeleteI have fed the birds and squirrels in the past but I don't do it now. Part of the reason is the over breeding and dependency on humans as a food source. The other reason is that this area has relatively mild winters and an abundance of food sources. I still see many, many birds in my backyard everyday.
We gave up the battle of cleaning up seed hulls many years ago. I think it was 1976 when I came home from Victoria, BC and saw a man up there buying sunflower meat or the chip inside the hulls and he was feeding them to finches that would land on his roof (outside his window). He said he paid about $50.00 for #50. I came home and ordered some and paid that much myself but there is/was no waste. And now the price, because of demand, is about $30.00 for fifty pounds. We also put out raw shelled peanuts. Those two are eaten by everything that comes here. Oh. Forgot two suet cakes.
ReplyDeleteI've read that we shouldn't feed them, either. But the photos are so beautiful, I can't fault you for it!
ReplyDeleteIt snowed pretty heavily all day, just like that. It will be gone tomorrow. The bird feeders were empty so my husband went in the snow to refill them. Then about 50 birds or more came to our 4 bird feeders and to the seeds he threw on the grounds. More even came and I could not count them. Now the snow is melting on the ground. We spent a long time watching the birds.
ReplyDeleteI think the only real bad thing to do is to start feeding and then stop..they do count on your feeders. As long as the area is safe from predators..I don't see the harm in it..we have only one feeder..we have Chick a dees and Nuthatches during the winter. Some days we only have a few..some days we have more..I think they make the rounds:)
ReplyDeleteI love your pictures!! My dad always fed the birds!
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