I have been absolutely glued to every post re the feeding of birds. I myself
do feed and perhaps will continue to feed at my home site but with more care
and consideration due to the many posts on Birding-aus about this subject.
Thank you birding-aus.JudeBurpengary Qld
> Date: Wed, 27 Jan 2016 19:38:52 +1100
> From:
> To:
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Feeding Birds
>
> 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 :
> >
> >
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