Should you feed the birds?

Last week, in the Body&Soul column, I innocently covered the subject of what to feed the birds after a question came in about whether it was possible to buy bird food from the UK, rather than abroad. You’ll find my answer here. Since then, shocked emails have thumped into my inbox, saying that I shouldn’t be advocating this sort of behaviour at all. Bird feeding, I’ve discovered, is shockingly bad form. I thought it was kind souls who liked David Attenborough did. Was I wrong to suggest that we help our feathered friends through the winter by providing goodies in our garden? Not according to the RSPB. So long as it is done responsibly. Click here to find its advice. Interestingly, it also recommends bird feeding as a way of bringing wildlife closer to people’s lives, allowing us to teach children about the natural world and generally get closer to small furry things that enhance our lives. I second that. Especially having chanced upon Simon Barnes’ book How to be a Bad Birdwatcher recently. Not counting myself as either a good or bad birdwatcher, I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. As he points out, even if you can only name a handful of birds – robin, pigeon, blackbird, mmm, struggling now - you can still be a birdwatcher. Hurrah. Having read the book, by heavens, I think I am one. So should I feed the new objects of my affections?

Comments

[Sophie M]

Pour fat from cooking sausages, bacon etc into disposable containers, and add some bits of nuts, seeds etc. The birds will love this in winter!

[hedgewizard]

My own solution to the dilemma was the edible hedge - which provides flowers and berries pretty much all year round . And my reward? A blackbird that thinks the raspberries in the fruit garden are included in the deal!

[Tom Prior]

I've just spotted a Robin that has returned to my garden. I'm off to the garden centre to buy some food for him!

[Kitchen Witch]

I was far too enthusiastic in my suet purchasing in anticipation of last Christmas; the result was that I ended up with two boxes left over. Melted down, with a load of (cooked) beans, nuts and seeds, they seemed to go down a treat.

[Peter Smart]

Can't imagine why anyone would consider feeding birds to be 'bad behaviour'. Perhaps they're Londoners who assume bird-feeding is feeding pigeons in Trafalgar Square?

Just wanted to thank you for the tip on "The Really Wild Birdfood Company". I have just received my first 10 kilos from them, saved myself a few ££s and reduced my previous bird food miles by at least 120 miles. And they seem to be very pleasant people to deal with to boot. Good news all round.

Regards,
Peter

[sue law]

I feed the birds but more back each week.
Now my garden looks like Trafalgar Square at lunchtime.
Or how it used to look before Red Ken sent the team in.
But now they roost all in my guttering and I feel bad to get it cleaned out.
The consequences of our actions hey?

[Robin Bather]

I'm sure I'm going to get it in the neck by owning up to this but I'll tell you all anyway.
Two years ago we planned a trip to London from Mexico where I live and part of my itinerary was to show my girls Trafalgar Square and let them experience the feeding of the pidgeons.
So........wait for it.........we brought 3 lbs of grains of corn 6000 miles to feed them!
The pidgeons loved every grain of it but the carbon footprint of that corn must have been terribly high.
Sorry.

[Brien Comerford]

God supossedly takes care of feeding the birds. Sadly, mankind has decimated God's creation and creatures. The onus is on us to feed the birds and have reverence for the lives of all God's creatures great and small.