Do you approve of feeding wild birds to draw them closer?

[The_Camera_Poser]

As the topic says- do you approve of feeding wild brids to bring them in close for photography? I'm just curious, as quite a few folks in Australia think it's wrong to feed wild birds, for a variety of reasons.

[scrumpy]

As the topic says- do you approve of feeding wild brids to bring them in close for photography? I'm just curious, as quite a few folks in Australia think it's wrong to feed wild birds, for a variety of reasons.

Perhaps you could enlarge and share the reasons why it may be wrong to feed the birds for whatever reason.

In the UK we are positively encouraged to feed our birds all year round. I do, and have done for many years. The fact that you may be lucky some days and get a half decent shot is quite incidental to me.

There are a few simple rules: never place food where cats can easily ambush birds; never offer whole peanuts during the breeding season, and always offer clean water.

[The_Camera_Poser]

Scrumpy- there's a popular feeling around here that birds that are fed become reliant on handouts, and will suffer when the food is no longer available. It's also believed that it contributes to feral bird populations. I think feedings' ok, as long as it's consistent.

[Anke]

One of my bird books does say not to attract wild birds with food or calls for the purpose of photography/viewing.

[snowyowl13]

Studies at Cornell show that birds don't become dependent. Even when food is made available to them they still get almost 90% of their food from natural sources.

[The_Camera_Poser]

That's very interesting Snowy. Birds are very opportunistic.

[ak_powder_monkey]

yes, I also approve of drawing them in with decoys and calls then shooting them (with camera or shotgun). Birds are tastey!

[The_Camera_Poser]

yes, I also approve of drawing them in with decoys and calls then shooting them (with camera or shotgun). Birds are tastey!

Soooooo many political jokes are coming to mind, but I'll just leave it alone.....

But it's oohhhhh sooooo tempting....

[gymell]

I'm fine with it as long as it's done in a responsible manner. Keeping feeders clean, taken them down for a period if there's any sign of disease, provide reasonable cover from predators, not putting up feeders when it presents a danger (excessive predation, stray cats, attracting invasive species, etc.) I do have mixed feelings about doing this out in the field as opposed to the back yard - using calls and baiting raptors for example. I feel it can be done responsibly but I fear that often it might not be. It's a very fine line. Regardless of where/when/how, it's important to keep the welfare of the bird in mind as the most important thing at all times.

[Netgarden]

I don't believe in bait because the bird and game people here stated to me that they will not survive in the wild if we feed them. We don't want to turn them into zoo birds. Besides what thrill is it to get a bird that is tricked into getting closer? We are only teaching them to trust humans and then they get killed. It's not a good idea, although I don't really put down others who do.

[gymell]

Define "bait". Because if you are talking about simply putting out bird feeders, then your bird and game people are wrong. Numerous studies have shown that birds do not become dependent on feeders. For example, a study from the University of Wisconsin found (abstract (http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/JFO/v063n02/p0190-p0194.pdf)):


Survival rates of a resident population of Black-capped Chickadees (Parus atricapillus) that were regular feeder users, and thus potentially dependent,were compared with those of a resident population of chickadees that had never been exposed to a bird feeder,during a winter when feeders were not available to either group.No difference was found between the average(+SD) monthly survival rates of chickadees had used that feeders the past (0.84 + 0.13) and those that had never used feeders in (0.85 q- 0.12) There was no evidence that bird feeding promotes dependency.
Here's an Audubon Magazine (http://audubonmagazine.org/backyard/backyard0001.html) quoting the above mentioned study, as well as others, to demonstrate that feeding wild birds (in a responsible manner of course) is not harmful. When organizations like the Audubon Society (http://www.audubon.org/bird/at_home/bird_feeding/index.html), Cornell Lab of Ornithology (http://birds.cornell.edu/pfw/Overview/over_index.html) (which runs Project FeederWatch), National Wildlife Federation (http://www.nwf.org/backyard/birdfeeding.cfm) (which certifies Wildlife Habitats, one of the components of which is food sources, including bird feeders), then I tend to go with them over hearsay. Do your bird and game people have any non-anecdotal information that contradict these sources? If so, I'd like to see those references.

Again I need to emphasize what I'm talking about here is responsible bird feeding, as I outlined in my previous post. And it is a thrill to bring in birds and be closer to them . I really enjoy providing habitat for them to help them survive, and also bring enjoyment to myself, friends and family. This habitat includes natural and artificial food sources, water sources, and nesting/roosting boxes. Thus far I've attracted 60 bird species to my yard, and am hoping for more. If you believe this isn't a thrill, then you're missing out.

http://www.pbase.com/gymell/image/97405670/medium.jpg

[fruitcake]

With the loss of habitats, environmental damage etc, I think having some feed available to photograph the birds is a very minor thing to worry about.

In the UK the winter months can be tough on birds, seed etc gives them an extra chance and if the upshot is that you get a good subject to photograph from a distance then all the better.
Win win situation.

[Netgarden]

to clarify my note, meaning bait as in raptor bait. Live animals fed to them just so you get the killer shot. Thats what the fish and game person explained to me, that the birds won't learn how to feed themself, and will starve if supplimented for selfish reasons and then leave them alone. Also they are more vulerable to injury and being shot by a gun if they are taught to trust humans. Back yard birds are different because they have food regardless and live in town yards where guns aren't allowed.

[hardcorewaterfowl]

I think the type of bird is more important to the question. Small backyard birds would be a different answer than say waterfowl or large birds of prey. Botchalism is a constant problem with overfeeding birds if the foodsource gets tainted and could result in a large bird kill. Feeding in a wild environment in the states during our hunting seasons could be illegal and lead to area shutdowns both for hunters and photogs.

[gymell]

to clarify my note, meaning bait as in raptor bait. Live animals fed to them just so you get the killer shot. Thats what the fish and game person explained to me, that the birds won't learn how to feed themself, and will starve if supplimented for selfish reasons and then leave them alone. Also they are more vulerable to injury and being shot by a gun if they are taught to trust humans. Back yard birds are different because they have food regardless and live in town yards where guns aren't allowed.

Ah, ok that's totally different. Yes, I agree that there are many more considerations when it comes to raptor baiting. I've read many opinions pro and con, and I think there probably are ways to do it responsibly, but my gut feeling is that I wouldn't want to do it myself.

[snowyowl13]

to clarify my note, meaning bait as in raptor bait. Live animals fed to them just so you get the killer shot. Thats what the fish and game person explained to me, that the birds won't learn how to feed themself, and will starve if supplimented for selfish reasons and then leave them alone. Also they are more vulerable to injury and being shot by a gun if they are taught to trust humans. Back yard birds are different because they have food regardless and live in town yards where guns aren't allowed.
Frankly, I think that your source was talking nonsense. I very much doubt that using a live bait to attract a raptor or owl for a picture will have any effect on a birds ability to hunt. If it was young bird and had all of it's food given that way then that would be different but that is totally unlikely to happen. Ethically I don't believe in using live bait.
As for >Back yard birds are different because they have food regardless and live in town yards where guns aren't allowed.<. I live in the country, run lots of feeders, own guns as do my neighbours and expect that the birds that come to my feeders are safer than urban back yard birds.
If you want more information on feeding, check out Cornell's Feeder Watch Program web site. Cornell is one of the World's leading Ornithology Labs and, as I said in an earlier post, they support feeding and specifically point out that stopping mid-winter will not harm birds.

[Bubble]

why not? even you put up a live cat fish, the bird is not even bother to fly down and get it.

[Natural Images]

I approve of feeding birds to bring them close for photography/viewing, after all don't most people feed birds for the pleasure of viewing them? And as one poster said studies show that birds don't become dependent on your feeder/food source, so it doesn't harm birds a bit.