We are fortunate to share our beautiful river valley and city parks with many kinds of wildlife, including wild birds. Throughout the past year the Helen Schuler Nature Centre has received an increase in reports from the public about people hand feeding and habituating wild birds in city parks. Staff have also noticed an increase in social medial posts featuring people hand feeding wildlife.
While hand feeding birds may seem like an exciting and memorable experience for people it has many negative consequences for both the birds being fed, the environment and other park users.
“Wild birds do not need to be hand fed.” says Jessica Deacon-Rogers, Programming Coordinator at the Helen Schuler Nature Centre. “Birds living in the Lethbridge river valley have chosen to live here because there are lots of natural food sources and shelter nearby.”
The best diet for a wild bird is a natural diet. Nature provides the most nutritionally balanced and appropriate food sources for wild birds. Throughout the year natural food sources change, these changes align with wild bird’s dietary requirements. Insect lifecycles and seasonal berry, seed and flower “crops” provide the right balance of nutrients and energy for birds at each stage of their own seasonal activities, like nesting and migration. Human-fed birds may have reduced survival rates as food provided by people is less nutritionally balanced than their seasonal food sources.
Wild birds are at risk when they lose their fear of people. Hand fed or baited birds move from safe, natural habitats to open pathways, roadways and parking lots where they are more exposed to predation or injury. Hand feeding wild birds creates conflict between people and wildlife. Habituated wild birds often display aggressive behavior towards other birds, as well as people.
“We have been having problems this fall with habituated birds flying at people aggressively looking for food. This happens frequently when we are outside with children on school fieldtrips. Unfortunately, this is an alarming experience that has the potential to be dangerous for both the birds and the children.” says Taylor Hecker, Educational Program Leader at the Helen Schuler Nature Centre.
When foods like bird seed, bread and crackers are used to attract and bait wild birds, some waste is always left behind. Birds like chickadees and woodpeckers often don’t eat the seed they are baited with right away. These birds hide or cache food throughout their territory. The cached seeds eventually grow into weeds, which have the potential to spread throughout the park over time. This degrades the habitat for other wildlife species.
Animals, like mice, are drawn to the excess dropped seeds or bread piles. As a result, feeding leads to unnatural population numbers for many other species including animals like coyotes, raccoons and skunks. Leftover bits of seeds and hulls become moldy, leading to illness in the birds that eat it. Feeding also contributes to overcrowding, which in turn leads to outbreaks of disease.
If you enjoy watching birds, there are many ways you can help wild birds right in your backyard. Providing habitat in urban areas is very important. Having shrubs, trees and naturalized areas in your yard provide excellent food sources and habitat for birds. Clean, potable sources of water will also attract birds to your property. You can also enjoy birds by learning more about them! Cornell Labs All About Birds is a great online resource. The Helen Schuler Nature Centre has resources about local birds and can answer questions for people living in Lethbridge and Southern Alberta.
Media contact:
Jessica Deacon-Rogers
Program Coordinator
Helen Schuler Nature Centre
403-320-3064
jessica.deaconrogers@lethbridge.ca
