subject: Is It A Good Thing To Feed The Birds In Your Garden [print this page] Is It A Good Thing To Feed The Birds In Your Garden
In an effort to attract birds to your garden, you may decide to set up bird houses at various strategic points in your yard to provide shelter for the birds. In addition to giving them a place to live, it also brings them close enough for you to observe all through the seasons.
All the same, after you have positioned these bird houses in your yard, you have to make a decision as to whether you should leave food out for them or not. Many purists believe that you should not feed them believing that if you do, the birds will become dependent on you and lose their natural wild life survival instincts. Others believe that without help, especially during the colder winter months when food may be hard to come by, the birds will not make it through the winter.
Unfortunately, there is not an absolute right or wrong answer to that question. Everyone has to decide for themselves the right thing to do. Keep in mind, however, that if you do decide to set up feeders for them and lay out food, once you start, be prepared to continue. That is because, once you start, whether you like it or not, you have made them partially dependent on you. The birds that live in your garden, as well as the birds that visit your garden will come to depend on a certain amount of food being at that location.
In order to survive, birds need to be constantly on the lookout for food sources. From the time they get up in the early dawn, they are looking for food. And, with the exception of a couple of midday rest breaks, they spend most of the day until dark looking for food. My personal belief is that man has spent centuries slowly destroying their natural wildlife habitats and feeding areas. A nice way to give something back is to provide feeding areas in your back yard or garden which you make a good effort to keep stocked and replenished.
So what are the best foods to feed them? You won't go wrong by following two simple rules. One, give them staples. And, two, give them variety.
Staples have a simple purpose - help keep your bird friends alive and healthy. The most typical staples are generally the seeds and grains. They are perfect staples for a couple of reasons. Correctly stored, they will last you a long time. So you won't have to be constantly reordering supplies for your bird friends.
But, most important of all is that, if they have to, nearly any species of birds can survive solely with a diet of seeds and grains. This would be similar to you surviving on bread, nuts, and water. These may not be your favorite foods, but they will enable you to survive.
But, birds need more than just surviving. Like you, they generally want to get some enjoyment and fun from life also. And you can help them with this by offering them variety. Make an effort to surprise them with different kinds of food - peanuts, sun flower seeds, even fruits. You will attract many more birds by having a variety of foods. And the ones that show up will look forward to the variety that they find in your garden.
