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GBBC; feeding and hand-feeding



Hi Carolinabirders,

Floridabirds listserv has a report of a Ruddy Quail-Dove in Fort 
Lauderdale. Seen Friday but apparently not since, but having chased a few 
other rarities there (Key West Quail-Dove, Bahama Mockingbird, 
Bananaquit) I can tell you that the shrubbery is insanely, impenetrably 
dense, so a skulking, ground-hugging bird like that could stay for weeks 
without being seen. Just in case anyone happens to be heading in that 
direction. Me, I think I'm stuck in NC until March. Maybe it'll stick 
around until then...

Speaking of staying at home, saw on the BirdSource website that the Great 
Backyard Bird Count is one month away, February 15-18. I probably won't 
make a big an effort as usual; not only does my new yard have many fewer 
species and individuals than my old one, my new house doesn't have the 
big windows viewing the backyard either. But if the weather's nice, maybe 
I'll set up a chair and read about nonparametric statistics on the deck 
that weekend. Or maybe I'll arbitrarily adopt an honorary backyard 
someplace; that's allowed, as long as nobody else adopts the same spot.

> Re: the mention that a Ruffed Grouse did not seem afraid of hikers, several
> species of grouse occasionally produce an individual that has no fear of
> humans and in some cases have even attacked them.

I was charged by a Ruffed Grouse in the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest 
in New Hampshire about ten years ago. It had chicks nearby; I actually 
saw the chicks first, but couldn't figure out what species of bird they 
were until the adult attacked. The chicks could fly several meters, 
despite being a fraction (maybe one-fifth or less) the apparent size of 
the adult.

> Most avian diseases cannot "jump species" (are not zoonotic) and
> cannot be commmunicated to humans.

The obvious exception to Donna's rule is, of course, Salmonella. It's a 
harmless gut bacterium if you're a bird, turtle, or lizard. If you're 
human, it's a potentially dangerous infection. So take her advice, wash 
your hands frequently and your feeders regularly.

> Wild life is "wild" life, and are 
> not pets, and are not present in our environment for their 
> entertainment value.

Anyone who agrees with Jack's argument against hand-feeding should not 
just avoid hand-feeding. You should avoid feeding wildlife, period. And 
that's not necessarily a bad thing. As Craig replied, feeding from the 
hand is only slightly beyond feeding from a feeder, or even from the 
ground near a house. And in some ways, hand-feeding is better than a 
feeder; don't know about you guys, but I wash my hands much more often 
than I do my feeders.

> My post does not just seem to suggest that hand feeding is a good 
> thing, it is saying that for me handfeeding is indeed a good thing.

I think Craig's hit the nail on the head here by adding "for me". We all 
have to remember, when it comes to bird feeding - by hand or in a feeder 
- we should not fool ourselves and think we're helping the birds. It does 
NOT help, and under certain conditions, it can even hurt. Feeders only 
help birds in the most extreme circumstances, such as during sudden 
freezes in normally mild climes. Note, for example, how rarely that 
Broad-tailed Hummingbird near Greensboro came to its feeder, except 
during cold snaps. And we've all heard the statistics on how frequently 
hummers need to eat to survive.

The rest of the time, birds are perfectly capable of feeding themselves 
with or without feeders. The distributions of birds as we know them today 
has been shaped by centuries of selection in a feederless world. Feeders 
concentrate birds at densities that are unnatural for most species, 
making them more subject to diseases and predators than they would be 
otherwise. Also, many species that might otherwise be limited in 
population by their food supplies, such as Raccoons and squirrels, can 
beef up by raiding feeders (as well as compost heaps and unsecured 
garbage cans) and reproduce more. These animals also raid bird nests, 
but are not limited by them because of their many other food sources; so 
no matter how far the birds decline in abundance, the nest robbers can 
keep increasing in number. This may also apply to Brown-headed Cowbirds, 
House Sparrows, Starlings...

So why feed? For us. It keeps us in touch with nature, a practice that 
has been scientifically linked to psychological health. It gives us 
friends to keep us company. It attracts rarities to places where we can 
chase them. It gives us markers to tell the passing of the seasons: the 
first Ruby-throated Hummingbird of spring, the first Indigo Bunting of 
summer, the first Brown Creeper of fall, the first Fox Sparrow of winter. 
It bonds us to our environment, which then leads us to care about much 
less immediately tangible issues that are much more likely to harm us, 
like endangered species, exotic species, global warming, pollution, and 
so on. And - most important of all, in my opinion - it inspires many 
people to care about wildlife and the environment who would not otherwise 
do so.

Feeding birds is not necessary for people to enjoy any of those benefits, 
but it does help.

> This is just your mind attempting to distract
> you from your task of hearing your inner voice, your true self.

Okay Craig, now you're sounding like a Quaker...

Joshua S. Rose
Duke University
Department of Biology (Zoology, R.I.P.)

jsr6@duke.edu
http://www.duke.edu/~jsr6/