Something new every day - plus bird feeding
Sunday 19 April
This fellow wandered through the garden yesterday - his ladies were on the other side of the fence but he took a long time working that out.
Sanguinaria
The first few Sanguinaria (Bloodroot) of the season opened their flowers yesterday too … a couple of solitary bees have found them already.
A Garden Milestone
Mid-April has arrived and on Tuesday, the annual ceremonial milestone of turning on the waterfall was enjoyed. One hour later, the heavens turned on their own waterfall and a biblical deluge was delivered for the rest of the day. The waterfall doesn’t look much just now but once the greenery starts to grow you will see a dramatic change. Ready now for migrating birds - who are drawn to the feature - to start putting in an appearance. It never fails.
Should we be Bird Feeding - Yes or No? Let’s keep it simple.
Recently the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (potential conflict of interest statement - I am a Life Member) which makes a decent amount of money from selling bird seed and feeders, came out and clearly said that as far as they were concerned garden bird feeders are ideally only to be used infrequently and with due consideration. Lots of sound supporting arguments were advanced. They advise us to “feed safely and feed seasonally” by removing all bird feeders filled with seeds and peanuts and instead offering small amounts of protein such as mealworms, fat balls or suet between 1 May and 31 October. Those get the seal of approval because they tend not to attract clusters of finches to gather closely together, and proteins and fats are needed for the birds to feed their chicks. They go on to say “Feeding birds is something millions of us love and value, but the science shows us that (some species of) birds have been affected by the spread of disease at feeders … We’re not asking people to stop feeding, just to feed in a way that protects birds’ long-term health. By making small changes together, we can ensure garden feeding continues to be a positive force for nature.”
Right - so, that’s the advice from the UK, and pretty sound too, but it has been picked up all over the media on both continents and is being widely interpreted as advice to “stop feeding birds”. Period. How does this apply to parts of the world such as the one I live in where there are feet of snow on the ground for at least three months each winter together with extreme cold? The RSPB are clear that winter feeding is acceptable but that summer and fall feeding is best if minimised or avoided. I have read several third-party articles saying “no feeding at all - year round” … and that just does not make sense.
So, putting on my white biologist’s coat and picking my words carefully, I offer these guidelines as making practical and scientific sense. These work wherever you live.
First - what are the potential problems? Many mentioned, but these are what matter most:
Disease transmission - Salmonella, Trichomonas, E.coli, Mycoplasma, Aspergillum.
Common “Bully birds” crowd the feeders and keep smaller, perhaps rarer, birds away from food they need.
Do this:
First and foremost - keep your feeders clean. At least every couple of weeks clean all your feeders. Hot water, soap, bleach. You know the drill. Throw away any uneaten food - it almost certainly contains disease organisms.
If you use platform feeders - and some birds much prefer food offered this way rather than in tube feeders - clean them twice as often. Weekly. Make sure platform feeders have fine mesh so that water does not accumulate, but seeds are retained. In snowy parts of the world (here) platform feeders in winter are necessary for ground feeding birds that cannot actually get to the ground because of the snow and ice.
In warm months when wild food is available, feed minimally. Adult birds will be feeding young, so supplement wild food with suet blocks. Only offer seeds in tube feeders, ideally squirrel-proof feeders. Retire the platforms.
If you have a garden then engage in bird-friendly garden planting, with sunflowers, echinacea, aster, rudbeckia, Joe Pye weed etc. Plants which provide natural sources of seasonal food as well as encouraging pollinating insects, bees, butterflies which are particularly important as a food source for many garden birds when they have chicks to feed. In raising their young, birds prioritise insects, caterpillars etc for their chicks even if for the rest the year they are an obligate seed eating species.
And That’s all.
It was beautifully misty at the end of the road
Birds in Cities
Here is a brief introduction to what we can do in our communities to help our birds - the scientist interviewed is a friend of ours. She does good work.
This is delightful … my sort of scientists, in pictures:
For his project ‘De Oförtrutna’ (The Relentless), photographer Christer Björkman pictured Swedish scientists working in the spirit of Carl Linnaeus, the botanist who created the modern taxonomic system that classifies organisms based on appearance. Each scientist brought to the shoot a book and an item of importance to their work
Paving Over the World
A recent short piece from the Guardian was wondering what is in the minds of those who prioritise concrete around their houses to gardens and birds and bees. Lord knows … I console myself with the thought that they will never be able to walk out into a garden in the spring and enjoy flowers like the ones below - the blue one is Puschkinia. Their loss, sad people.
Your (and RSPB's) points re when to feed and when not to are fine for non-desert areas. During a typical summer in the US desert southwest, summer, especially in drought years, can be 'food desert' time for birds and other wildlife. Here the better choice is to remove fats (they melt in the 90+ degree heat) and focus on seeds, nuts, jelly for orioles and sugar water for hummingbirds as flowers/nectar are limited. The sugar water and jelly need to be changed/cleaned daily or at least every other day to avoid spoilage.
Love that wild turkey - he's a real beauty! Is it my imagination or are they everywhere these days (in the Montreal area anyway)? Ever since covid lockdown when they were seen strutting down the middle of the road...they seem to have become braver!?