{"id":7603,"date":"2021-06-19T12:59:45","date_gmt":"2021-06-19T16:59:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/?p=7603"},"modified":"2024-06-14T16:07:19","modified_gmt":"2024-06-14T20:07:19","slug":"should-you-feed-birds-in-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/should-you-feed-birds-in-summer\/","title":{"rendered":"Should You Feed Birds in Summer?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Carolina
(Carolina Wren)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Some people say you should not feed birds in the summer and yet many people do feed birds year round. So should you feed backyard birds in the summer? How do you decide? Here is how I think about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span>Estimated reading time: <\/span>11<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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\"American
American Robin with a Caterpillar<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

There are Three Main Positions on Whether to Feed Birds in Summer:<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

1) Some People Say NEVER Feed Backyard Birds<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

People who feel that bird feeders are not a good idea at all, will sometimes say wild creatures should be allowed to live their lives in ways that don’t alter their normal behaviors. They argue that feeders make birds dependent on people and\/or that they make birds lazy. (My thoughts on this further below.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And they point out that offering food in winter months may encourage them to stay longer than they otherwise might in a cold climate. And it is true that there have been changes in the ranges of some birds that may be related to the widespread availability to feeder foods in winter months. Northern Cardinals are often pointed to as one example. (See Nature.org’s post on Are Bird Feeders Helping Cardinals Expand Their Range?<\/a>) But it is also possible that climate change may play a role in changing bird species ranges. (See Audubon’s article on Climate Change Could Cause Shifts in Bird Ranges That Seem Unbelievable Today<\/a>) Is expanded range a good thing or a bad thing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the never-feeder folks will also often rightly point out that birds aggregating together can spread disease if one or more arrives sick. (It’s hard to explain social distancing to a bird.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, they often point to dirty feeders and birdbaths themselves can be a source of bird illness. Mold can be toxic to birds and feces mixed in with seed can make them sick. If you put up a feeder or a birdbath, you must take responsibility to keep it clean. If you can’t or won’t do this, then you should reconsider whether you should be feeding birds at all. After all, there are other ways to see and enjoy birds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more on this position, check out To Feed or Not to Feed Wild Birds<\/a>. This is a US Fish & Wildlife article looking at pros and cons of bird feeding that leans towards NOT feeding them, but also includes guidelines if you choose to feed birds.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"American
American Goldfinches on a Snowy Feeder<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

2) A Second Group Says ONLY Feed Backyard Birds in Winter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The folks who say that you should only feed birds in the winter usually point to the natural abundance of foods for birds in warmer months. Their argument is that there is no real need to feed birds in the warm months when they can find food on their own. But they point out that offering food in colder months or even just during a winter storm can help a bird make it through the winter. This is may be especially true during very cold weather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sialis, a site about bluebirds, has a really interesting pdf on their website from the National Bird Feeding Society that looks at The Dynamics of Feeding Birds; The Pluses and Minuses of Feeding Wild Birds<\/a>, which includes some of the potential feeder benefits to birds in winter. It specifically digs into some scientific studies looking at birds like Black Capped Chickadees and Blue Jays. But it also hits potential downsides as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note: We don’t get bears in my neighborhood, so I don’t have that issue. But if you do, the recommendation is to take your feeders down during the warm months when bears are active. Feeders can attract other critters too, including squirrels<\/a>, raccoons<\/a>, rats and mice, which may require additional strategies to keep them out of feeders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But also consider that some people are just plain busy with other things in the summer months. It is often a time for vacations, hikes and outdoor socializing away from home. Not everyone has time to keep up with feeder and birdbath maintenance. Birds can usually find their own food in the summer months, so they say that not filling feeders makes sense to them. (It can also save you money in birdseed!)<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Mother
Mother American Bluebird Brings Fledgling to Feeder<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

3) Other People Say It’s Fine to Feed Birds Year Round Including Summer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For myself, I feed birds year round, so I’m writing this with an obvious bias (although I’ve tried to present other views fairly.) I have a lot of feeders up in my yard and there is something in them during every season. The exception would be hummingbird feeders of course, which are only up in warmer months. Also, in the summer months, I only offer no-melt suet. During colder months, my feeders tend to be very busy. In the summer, the feeders are quiet, with fewer birds visiting. Even flock species typically tend to stop by in smaller groups. Because there tends to be less demand in the summer, I also typically take some of the feeders down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though I feed birds in the summer, I do agree with the folks who say you don’t NEED to feed birds in the warmer months. What I offer in the summer is a supplement<\/em> to what birds can find naturally in my yard and neighborhood. It might be a quick bite for a busy bird mom or dad who has spent a long day hunting caterpillars for their babies. If I didn’t feed birds in the spring and summer, I would also miss out on bird parents bringing their fledglings to the feeders for the first time, which is always an incredible treat. Watching young birds figure things out is awesome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more on the joys of watching birds at summer feeders, also see my post on Summer Birds: Bird Watching and Feeding Tips<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Northern
Northern Cardinal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Each Position on Feeding Birds Has Some Good Arguments<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

While I personally fill my feeders and birdbaths year round, I totally respect folks who choose to only feed birds in winter. To me, that argument is reasonable and frankly, birdseed can be expensive too. For myself, I would miss seeing the birds that come to my spring and summer feeders though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And I can also respect folks who feel you should never feed birds, even if I don’t agree with their position. They firmly believe that it is best for birds. You can love birds and enjoy watching them without being obligated to put up feeders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that said, I don’t personally agree with all of their arguments. For one thing, I notice that feeder birds are often birds \u201cof least concern\u201d when you look up their environmental status. These birds in general seem to be doing ok coming to our feeders. Some of the articles linked to in this post cover scientific studies that found bird survival and weight were improved by access to feeders. But again, if people don’t keep their feeders and birdbaths clean and in good repair, birds can suffer. In that case, I think they should reconsider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also seems possible to me that offering food might fill a gap that people have caused with all of our cutting down trees and digging up farm fields and putting up buildings. Habitat destruction is a human-caused problem after all. Bird watching also often fosters interest in other birds that maybe are not doing so well in our current world. So groups working to help those birds get more support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also think anyone who has watched birds jockeying for status at feeders would be hard pressed to call them lazy. Being a wild bird is a lot of work, regardless of where you find food. And at least in my yard, even seed eating birds like finches, that spend the most time on my feeders, also spend a lot of time in the trees and flowers and bushes looking for seed away from feeders. Some of the studies mentioned in this post’s links also didn’t find that birds became dependent on feeders. Feeder food supplements<\/em> their diet; it doesn’t completely fill it.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Cleaning
Cleaning a Tube Feeder<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

If You Choose to Feed Birds in Summer, Be Responsible:<\/h1>\n\n\n\n