Bird feeding is the activity of feeding wild birds, often by means ofbird feeders. With a recorded history dating to the 6th century,[1] the feeding of wild birds has been encouraged and celebrated in the United States and United Kingdom, with it being the United States' second most popular hobby havingNational Bird-Feeding Month congressionally decreed in 1994. Various types of food are provided by various methods; certain combinations of food and method of feeding are known to attract certain bird species.
The feeding of wild birds has been shown to have possible negative as well as positive effects; while a study inSheffield, England found that the abundance of garden birds increased with levels of bird feeding, multiple reports suggest that bird feeding may have various negative ecological effects and may be detrimental to the birds being fed, including increased risk of predatory action andmalnutrition. It has been estimated that American adults spend approximately US$3.8 billion a year on food, feeders and related accessories.
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The British naturalistJames Fisher wrote that the first person recorded as feeding wild birds was the 6th-century monkSaint Serf ofFife who tamed a robin by feeding it.
During the harsh winter of 1890–1891 in the United Kingdom national newspapers asked people to put out food for birds, and in 1910 in the United Kingdom,Punch magazine declared that feeding birds had become a national pastime.[2]
Today in the United Kingdom, most people feed year-round, and enough food is provided to support the calorie requirements of the 10 most common garden bird species.[3] Bird feeding has grown into the United States' second most popular hobby behind gardening.[4] In celebration of the bird feeding hobby, February was namedNational Bird-Feeding Month by congressional decree in 1994.[5]
Certainfoods tend to attract certain birds.[6]Finches andsiskin are attracted byniger (nyger ornyjer),[7] andjays prefermaize.Hummingbirds,sunbirds and othernectivorous birds seeknectar.
Mixed seed and black-oil sunflower seed is favoured by many seed-eating species due to its high fat content and thin casing. In Australia, meat, especially raw beef mince (or ground beef), is commonly fed to wild carnivorous birds such asAustralian magpies andkookaburras.[8]
Birds such aswhite-eyes,barbets, and certainthrushes will consume fresh and cut fruit. Different feeders can be purchased specialized for different species. It is not only small birds that are attracted by bird feeding. In some urban areas of the UK,red kites are fed chicken and table scraps in gardens.[9][10]
Most common birds can be fed using peanuts, seed, coconut (but neverdesiccated coconut) or fat (but not oils that are liquid at room temperature) using a variety of feeders.[7]
After a station is established, it can take some weeks for birds to discover and start using it.[11] This is particularly true if the feeding station is the first one in an area or (in cold-winter areas) if the station is being established in spring when natural sources of food are plentiful. Food, particularly unshelled foods, such as thistle seed and suet, left uneaten for too long may spoil.[12] Birds also require a source of drinking water and a birdbath can attract birds to a feeding station.
In North America, suet can be used to attract a variety of birds that may not reliably visit a bird feeder containing seeds.[13]
A study conducted in Sheffield, England, found that the abundance of garden birds increased with levels of bird feeding. This effect was only apparent in those species that regularly take supplementary food, raising the possibility that bird feeding was having a direct effect on bird abundance. In contrast, the density of feeding stations had no effect on thespecies richness (number of different bird species present) in a neighbourhood.[14]
The use of bird feeders has been claimed to cause environmental problems; some of these were highlighted in a front-page article inThe Wall Street Journal.[15]
Prior to the publication ofThe Wall Street Journal article, Canadianornithologist Jason Rogers also wrote about the environmental problems associated with the use of bird feeders in the journalAlberta Naturalist.[16] In this article, Rogers explains how the practice of feeding wild birds is inherently fraught with negative impacts and risks such as fostering dependency, altering natural distribution,density andmigration patterns, interfering with ecological processes, causing malnutrition, facilitating the spread of disease and increasing the risk of death from cats,pesticides, hitting windows and other causes. In the UK, introducedeastern gray squirrels can consume significant volumes of food intended for birds.[17] An experimental study providing supplementary food during the breeding season found that predation levels bycorvids and eastern gray squirrels were higher when nests were located in close proximity to filled feeders.[18]
In a paper in the journalOecologia, it was reported that feeding ofblue tits andgreat tits with peanut cake over a long time period significantly reducedbrood size. This was driven by smallerclutch sizes in both species and lower hatching success rates for blue tits.[19]Studies by theUniversity of Freiburg andEnvironment Canada found thatblackcaps migrating to Great Britain from Germany had become adapted to eating food supplied by humans. In contrast blackcaps migrating to Spain had bills adapted to feeding on fruit such as olives.[20]
Providing supplementary food at feeding stations may also change interactions with other species.Aphids[21] andcarabid beetles[22] are more likely to be predated by birds near bird feeders.
Large sums of money are spent by ardent bird feeders, who indulge their wild birds with a variety ofbird foods and bird feeders. Over 55 million Americans over the age of 16 feed wild birds and spend more than $3 billion a year on bird food, and $800 million a year on bird feeders,bird baths,bird houses and other bird feeding accessories.[23] The activity has spawned an industry that sells supplies and equipment for the bird feeding hobby.
In some cities or parts of cities (e.g.Trafalgar Square in London[24]) feedingpigeons is activity discouraged by government, either because they compete with vulnerable native species, or because they abound and cause pollution and/ornoise.[citation needed]
