Christmas Wreath

Day 72: The debate about whether or not feeding wild birds is a good idea is a hot one with good arguments on both sides. However, in fifty-plus years of doing so, I have not made any observations which would incline me to stop: no die-offs, no lack of resistance to disease, no dependency on human handouts. Although I feed regularly, if for some reason I am absent for a week, my clientele shifts to other food sources and it sometimes takes them a day or two to discover that I've returned and am again delivering breakfast. I provide a wide range of seeds, nectar and fats and consequently have upwards of two dozen species coming to the table. But there is another argument for feeding which you won't hear voiced very often: that the practice is innate to human behaviour, and that imposing a restriction on it is unnatural and contradictory to our psyche. I wouldn't be surprised to find evidence of bird-feeding among the earliest humans; orts tossed outside the sheltering cave undoubtedly drew proto-corvids to the door. Man has always been fascinated by the creatures who do what he cannot: fly, and therefore elude him.

However, like humans, birds need to eat the right kind of foods. Bread, except as an occasional offering, is difficult for the avian digestive system to process and unless it is homemade or "organic," contains all sorts of things no living being should ingest. Put out black-oil sunflower seed for larger birds, a mix of small seed for those with smaller beaks. Add suet blocks for the woodpecker family who need a higher ratio of fats. If you have hummingbirds in winter, refresh the nectar jar often to prevent the growth of mold. Don't forget the "little people" this Christmas!