2023-04-24 16:43:00
Are we allowed to feed birds all year round, including spring and summer? A question on which spirits divide. What are the pros and cons of year-round feeding?
When it comes to wild birds, people in Germany don’t give up: In 2022, people spent 158 million euros on suet balls, wild bird feed, sunflower seeds, etc., according to the industry association for pet supplies. In the spring, the sacks and plastic boxes with birdseed will disappear from country food stores, DIY stores and garden centers. Anyone who has enjoyed the brisk activity at the birdhouse and the feeding stations in the garden or park may be wondering: Why not continue to feed them, the birds are hungry even in summer and the food supply in our settlement is not that big either?
Everyone is talking about birds dying, so why not feed them in the summer too?
Image rights: IMAGO/imageBROKER
The Naturschutzbund Deutschland counters this: “Bird feedings in towns and villages rarely reach more than 10 to 15 bird species, namely tits, finches, robins and blackbirds in particular. These species have stable or growing populations, none of which is endangered.” From the point of view of the Nature Conservation Union, little is done to protect biodiversity, even if the feeders are filled in spring and summer. Rather, it distracts from the actual problem: How do we design our environment, how do we deal with areas, where do we leave space for nature to (survive) life? Is bird feeding twelve months a year a comparatively cheap fig leaf with which we can easily cover our guilty conscience in view of the death of birds, insects, etc.?
Pro year-round feeding: what speaks in favor of feeding?
On the one hand there is the feeling of happiness that comes fluttering by with the birds. In short, one can say: The more different types, the more happiness. The German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research Halle-Jena-Leipzig (iDiv) and the University of Kiel have researched this and converted it into money: An increase of 14 bird species corresponds to the well-being of 124 euros more on the wage account.
Image rights: IMAGO / Panthermedia
The chirping of birds is also good for the soul. The Max Planck Institute for Human Development has found that listening to birdsong can reduce anxiety and paranoia in healthy people. It doesn’t matter whether several bird calls were heard or just one species. King’s College in London takes the same line: a research group has shown that hearing and seeing birds improves well-being.
Contra year-round feeding: Humans interfere with the ecological balance?
One argument against year-round feeding is that birds become dependent on human help, they change their breeding behavior. There is actually a studied example of this. A 1981 study in Finland demonstrated how supplemental food actually affected the survival of a willow tit and a crested tit population. Fewer animals perished in populations during the winter and breeding populations doubled the following spring. And this despite the fact that the winter feeding was ended two to four weeks before the eggs were laid. The researchers concluded from this that the food supply in winter also determines the size of the breeding population. Winter feeding could therefore be interpreted here as an “intervention” in the natural fluctuations of the ecosystem.
Contra year-round feeding: Birds relocate settlement areas?
Image rights: imago images/stevebyland
Research from Canada has proven this. Analysis of 17-year data from a citizen science project in British Columbia showed that one species of hummingbird, Calypte anna, adapted its wintering and migratory behavior to the urbanization of the landscape and the available food resources. The hummingbirds expanded their range and settled even in colder regions because they had learned that food was available all year round.
Pros & cons of year-round feeding: Feeding stations as disease slingshots?
How about the argument that birds make each other sick if fed year-round? The consideration here: Where many species peck at the same time, pathogens have an easy time. This is exactly what a multi-year study from 2011 to 2014 in Illinois/USA examined. The health of marked wild birds was compared at six locations, three with additional food and three without. Among other things, the number of offspring, body condition, stress level and feather development were observed and evaluated. The conclusion of the research group: The positive aspects of year-round feeding predominate. There were more birds with symptoms of the disease at locations with supplementary feed. Nevertheless, the birds showed a better overall health condition. According to the researchers, one explanation for this could be that birds at locations with additional feed are not additionally burdened by feed stress even in the event of illness.
Feeding places do not have to be germ spinners
People who also want to feed birds in summer can ensure that fewer diseases occur at feeding stations. Hygiene plays a major role here. Water and feed dispensers or bird houses should be cleaned regularly so that they do not become breeding grounds and transfer stations for pathogens. Dry feeding places that are protected against moisture ensure that the grain eaters do not eat anything moldy.
What people can learn from feeding birds, at any time of the year
Anyone who regularly feeds birds usually learns something new in both summer and winter. For example: If there is nothing going on at the aviary in winter, it does not mean that the bird is dying. It can also be that nature has provided a lot of food of its own accord, in which case one speaks of a good fattening year. Or those who follow current reports may find out that, for example, the Usutu virus had thinned out the blackbird population in the region last year. You learn to distinguish species and their feeding habits. Species that forage on the ground, others that prefer to forage at high altitudes. At best, you start by making the environment bird-friendly and planting, so that some find seeds, other insects, so that the garden is a paradise for birds all year round, regardless of whether you only feed in winter or also in summer.
Image rights: imago images/McPHOTO
The study of winter feeding and its consequences “Winter Mortality and Food Supply in Tits Parus spp.” in Finnland read here.
Die Studie “Winter range expansion of a hummingbird is associated with urbanization and supplementary feeding” lesen Sie hier im Original.
More knowledge news
This topic in the program:MDR TELEVISION | MDR crops | August 18, 2019 | 8:30 a.m
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