I'd Like to Stop Feeding You Now
March 9, 2015 6:28 AM   Subscribe

This winter has been very hard on the wild birds in our area due to the very cold and very snowy conditions. I fed the birds years ago for about a month but had stopped due to 1) raccoons and 2) feral cats (who live nearby at a farm). However this winter I saw an article in our local paper on wild birds having a tough time and had seen some birds pecking at a frozen bush by our house. We live in a large wooded lot and in the summer there is plenty of local stuff around. So I fed the birds since January. Because of the cold and snow - other then the occasional fat squirrel, I haven't seen any raccoons or cats. Knowing nothing of wild birds and their proclivities, I'd like to stop come spring. Is this something bird people do? I remember vaguely an old saying that the birds come to rely on your feeder. Can you just feed the birds during winter months and stop when snow melts? It seems stupid to ask but there aren't too many people who feed birds anymore in my area.
posted by lasamana to Science & Nature (9 answers total)
 
I found this...
posted by ian1977 at 6:33 AM on March 9, 2015 [1 favorite]


I've always heard that it's best to stop feeding when the snow is gone and it's not below zero anymore. In my area, it's recommended to stop feeding in March.
You don't want insect-eating birds to give their young grains and nuts instead because they're so easy to get. So feeding should be stopped before the eggs hatch.
posted by Too-Ticky at 7:09 AM on March 9, 2015


It's fine to stop in the spring. In my area, it's recommended to stop then so as not to attract bears. There seems to be general agreement among the experts that birds don't become dependent on feeders. See this, this, and this.
posted by Redstart at 7:14 AM on March 9, 2015


You're feeding over the winter to supplement their diet because there is little food available. In the spring, when the buds and bugs come back you can totally stop feeding! No guilt.
posted by hydrobatidae at 7:37 AM on March 9, 2015


It's fine to stop feeding. It's also fine to keep feeding.

All the folktales about bird feeding are just that. The truth is that birds aren't anywhere near as dependent on bird feeders as we'd like to think. If you're feeding them out of a sense of obligation, you can relax. They'll be fine.

The bird feeders are more for people interested in watching birds than they are for birds. They don't become addicted to feeders. Feed them if you're interested, skip it if you're not. I'll say that in most locations the birds are more vibrant and varried in the spring/summer than in the dead of winter, so if you stop in the spring you're missing out on some of the best bird-watching.
posted by the christopher hundreds at 8:45 AM on March 9, 2015 [6 favorites]


I feed the birds in my garden and also at a local nature spot. I never put out more than I think they'll eat in a day. If they're leaving any food behind, I just put out less the next day. If it's all gone by early in the morning, I put more out later.

If you want to stop completely, then maybe just put less out so that the birds are encouraged to find other sources (which there must be, to support the local population). Wean them gently off whatever you're putting out. It's extremely unlikely that all of the birds in your local area are relying solely on you for their food.
posted by Solomon at 12:20 PM on March 9, 2015


I remember vaguely an old saying that the birds come to rely on your feeder.

I am not so sure that is true. Birds generally are grazers and they will get food from a number of different feeders and types of food. They go nuts for insects when they start coming out. Unless you are an oasis in the middle of the arctic tundra, you are fine taking in your feeders (we have to do that in Vermont when melt comes because of bears) when the weather gets nicer.
posted by jessamyn at 1:17 PM on March 9, 2015


Anecdata: I have been putting out seed for the birds in my backyard daily this winter and had dozens of birds who ate everything that I put out. Sometimes I would put out a second round in the afternoon and that, too, would be gone. Quite literally in the past three days since our temperatures went above freezing here in NJ I have had no takers for food. I think they're finding other sources now that the snow is melting, and I think it's okay to stop feeding.
posted by Otter_Handler at 10:56 AM on March 10, 2015


I don't know the answer, but I tend to trust the Audubon folks on bird questions, and here's what they have to say - When should I start and stop feeding birds?
Seed-eating birds get their food from a variety of sources throughout a day, so what people provide is a convenient and easy source of food, but not necessary to help the species of birds that come to feeders. So, starting or stopping your feeding at any particular time of year won't have much of an impact on those birds. The only exception is if there is a bad snow or ice storm and natural food is buried for a period of time. In that event, the seed you put out could be life-saving for some birds. Some people choose to only feed in winter, but others feed year-round to attract them closer to enjoy them up close.
posted by kristi at 9:52 AM on March 11, 2015


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