This discussion illustrates one of the ways in which the Birding-Aus email
group is superior to the various Facebook pages. It would have been shut
down long ago after a welter of offensive and offended responses from
keyboard warriors.
My view is that limited feeding of native animals with appropriate material
is OK in some circumstances, particularly when and/or where development or
disasters have reduced naturally available resources.
Cheers
David
On Wed, Jan 27, 2016 at 7:14 PM, Maris Lauva <>
wrote:
> Cogently thought out and reasonable. Your approach has my vote Frank.
>
> ________________________________________
> From: Birding-Aus <> on behalf of
> Frank O'Connor <>
> Sent: Wednesday, 27 January 2016 2:05 PM
> To:
> Subject: [Birding-Aus] Feeding Birds
>
> I used to be against the feeding of birds, but I now am not so against it.
>
> When I was at the Argyle Diamond Mine in the NE Kimberley of WA, at
> about 5am (or often 9pm the night before) I put out a little bird
> seed and some sultanas each morning and filled a water bath outside
> my village room. Since I worked 2 weeks on / 2 weeks off, none of the
> birds relied on this food. It was great to see a few finches (mostly
> Double-barred and Long-tailed but occasionally a few others),
> Olive-backed Oriole, Great Bowerbird, Northern Rosella, etc. Of
> course I was only there for a very short period in the morning to
> observe them. But it was only a little food that I put out, and so I
> am sure it was well gone by 7am or so.
>
> A few people around the mine site would put out a little food, and so
> this would be a good way to meet people interested in birds and talk
> to them about the birds. It also meant that people would report
> unusual birds to me, or would report breeding records to me. This
> probably wasn't the healthiest of food. Fruit cake, a little cheese,
> broken cracker biscuits. But it was only a little during their
> morning tea breaks. A Great Bowerbird with only the lower mandible
> visited one of these sites for at least two years. Not sure what
> caused the injury, and I was amazed that it could survive.
>
> I think that one of the reasons that birding is orders of magnitude
> more popular in North America and Europe is the feeding of birds. It
> is quite a large industry in these areas, and there are all sorts of
> feeders designed to keep out the squirrels, corvids, etc. And of
> course the hummingbird feeders in many parts of the USA. I am sure
> that this interaction with the birds greatly increases their interest
> in birds and wildlife. Surely this is a good thing?
>
> On many of my overseas trips, we visit feeders, especially in South
> America. A very easy way to see many hummingbirds, tanagers,
> antpittas, a few tinamous, a few wood quail, a few pigeons, etc.
> Certainly much better for the birds than trying to locate them
> elsewhere (and yes of course much better for the birders).
>
> In Australia there is feeding at O'Reillys at Lamington NP. There are
> feeders in FNQ that attract catbirds, riflebirds, etc. A trip in the
> south of WA would throw a herring to a White-bellied Sea Eagle.
> Pelagic trips use chum to attract the seabirds close to the boat.
>
> I don't have problems with any of the above.
>
> However, feeders in Perth mainly attract ferals. Corellas, Galahs,
> doves, Rainbow Lorikeets, etc. I certainly think this is a problem,
> and I can certainly see that the risk of diseases would be greater
> with either birds being released from aviaries, or visiting the
> aviaries and moving on.
>
> At Lake Monger in Perth, large quantities of bread were put out to
> feed the ducks, swans, gulls, etc as a tourist attraction. This had
> severe negative effects to the birds, and especially to the water
> quality, and this was stopped. Many lakes now have Do Not Feed The
> Birds signs. I support this.
>
> In Perth, the Carnaby's Black Cockatoos get most of the almonds and
> macadamia nuts that are grown in people's backyards. They weren't
> grown for the birds, but most people now accept that the cockatoos
> will get most of the crop, unless they net the tree. With the loss of
> the banksia woodlands / coastal heath on the Swan Coastal Plain, a
> major part of the diet for the cockatoos in their non breeding season
> is now pine nuts, almonds and macadamias.
>
> But putting out a little bit of grated cheese for a Willie Wagtail
> when it knocks on the window? or a little meat to a Grey Butcherbird?
> or meat for some magpies? i.e. where the native species is targeted,
> and the amount is small? I find it hard to believe that this is wrong
> and that it should be the subject of a fine in any environmental
> legislation. WA is in the process of revising its wildlife laws, and
> issues like this will be involved.
>
> In summary, there are practices that need to be stopped. But there
> are others that I believe benefit the birds with very little risk to
> them, and that these should be allowed. Perhaps it is difficult to
> define the line, but I do not support a blanket ban on feeding wildlife.
>
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> Frank O'Connor Birding WA
> http://birdingwa.iinet.net.au
> Phone : (08) 9386 5694 Email :
>
>
> <HR>
> <BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
> <BR>
> <BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
> <BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
> </HR>
>
> <HR>
> <BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
> <BR>
> <BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
> <BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
> </HR>
>
<HR>
<BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
<BR>
<BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
<BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
</HR>
|
