FACTS ABOUT BIRD FEEDING
DID YOU KNOW…?

• Southern California provides an abundant, natural, year-round food supply for birds to survive without supplementation.

• If humans don’t feed the birds, they will not starve; they will forage for food in other places, thus dispersing their environmental impact over a wider area.

• When supplementary food is readily available year-round the natural cycles of migration (which are largely determined by seasonal food supplies) may also be disrupted.

• If birds become dependent on an artificial food source, young birds may not be taught how to forage for natural foods and so risk starvation.

• Feeding birds can lead to the spread of infectious diseases that can be fatal to certain species of birds. Veterinarians say that without easy access to bird feeders and bird baths, infected animals will die and not infect other healthy birds in the process.

• Bird feeders also present potential risks to birds, such as window collisions and predators.

• Feeding birds makes direct contact with birds more likely. This can increase the risk of people catching diseases that birds can carry.

• Feeding birds can attract unwanted guests, like rats.

• Feeding birds can create friction between yourself and your neighbors who have to deal with large flocks of birds (i.e. pigeons) perching on roofs, railings and power lines creating an unclean, unhealthy environment on the area directly below.

• Giving birds (or other wildlife) inappropriate foods, such as bread, is unnecessary and potentially harmful. These foods can cause dietary problems, leading to sickness or malnutrition.

SO…WHAT’S A BIRDLOVER TO DO?

Birds and wildlife have adapted to utilize native plants that provide food, cover, nesting sites or a combination of resources. Native plants provide food at different times of the year to birds in the form of seeds, fruit or as invertebrate host sites. The growth habits of native plants present recognizable, safe nesting sites and cover that protect birds from inclement weather and predation. The importance of these plants to birds, insects and other wildlife cannot be overstated. Using native plants in your backyard landscape will offer the most resources to birds and wildlife and serve as rewarding attractants.

To access a comprehensive, regionally referenced database of plants that are particularly valuable to specific birds and other beneficial organisms, visit the Audubon Society’s website at
http://www.audubon.org/bird/at_home/Plants.html