Peter Woodall wrote:
I always wonder why putting out water for the birds is deemed OK by
the "authorities" but not food.
Can anyone explain the difference?
To me, they are both resources that are often limiting, as evidenced
by the way birds will often flock to water,
and both can affect the "subtle ecological balance", etc etc
Peter
At 05:31 PM 5/11/2004 +1100, you wrote:
While it is tempting to attract birds to our backyards by providing
food of various types there are a number of reasons for not doing
so. The problem of dependence on artificial food is only one, minor,
reason. Concentrating birds in unnatural aggregations can make them
more prone to predation, can favour large aggressive birds that
dominate the yard, can upset natural behaviour, can upset the subtle
ecological balance (which has already been disturbed by creating the
garden) and can assist with the spread of disease. On the NSW North
Coast species like Noisy Miners, Blue-faced Honeyeaters, Rainbow and
Scaly-breasted Lorikeets, Australian King-Parrots, Australian
Magpies, Pied and Grey Butcherbirds and Laughing Kookaburras are
birds that are frequently fed in gardens. The large honeyeaters and
lorikeets are also attracted to gardens because of extensive
plantings of 'bird attractant" grevilleas and bottlebrush. Who are
the losers? The small birds that are becoming increasingly scarce
due to habitat loss - that's who. Feeding birds in gardens isn't the
only problem. Developing gardens that attract larger birds to the
detriment of the smaller birds also plays its part.
There is a compromise. Providing clean water and a garden full of
locally occurring native trees, shrubs, vines, herbs and grasses will
be a much greater help to our birds than by artificially feeding
them. Remember, if you are feeding birds you are doing it for your
benefit - not the birds.
Regards
Greg
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Hear, Hear Peter. Even establishing gardens that are beneficial to all
of the local species of birds in an urban environment creates micro
refugia which can disapear at any time, due to events such as change of
owner. Whatever we do, if any thing, can be be seen as deleterious to
the local avifauna, even mowing the lawn or controlling weeds. So
perhaps it is best to just do what makes you feel warm and fuzzy, after
all birds as a whole have shown themselves to be very adaptive to
changes in environment.
Cheers,
Carl Clifford
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