Feeding Birds FAQs

When there is a helpless baby bird lying on the ground, most people’s first instinct is to take it in and try to raise it. Many people don’t realize that the vast majority of “abandoned” baby birds are perfectly healthy fledglings that don’t need your help at all! If the bird is not injured, the best thing to do is to leave the bird where it is and to monitor it from a significant distance. In most cases, the parents will attend to the bird as soon as they believe it is safe (ie. you are a safe distance away). Fledglings are usually fluffy and able to hop around and tightly grip your finger or a twig. If the baby bird you have found fits this description, it is completely normal for it to be hanging out on the ground, and you should just let it be. In some cases, younger baby birds, called nestlings, fall out of the nest before they are ready to leave. These birds usually only have a few sparse feathers and are incapable of hopping around or grabbing on to a twig. In this case, the nest is surely close by, and you should carefully place the baby bird back into it. As long as the bird isn’t injured, it should be just fine once it is back in its nest. You can find more information about what to do if you find a baby bird on the NestWatch website.

We’ve seen one example in more than 15 years, so yes, it’s possible, but it is extremely rare. A bird can be freed from this predicament by pouring warm water over the contact point.

There is no documented evidence for this. However, mixing peanut butter with grit or cornmeal will break up the stickiness if you are concerned.

Lots of birds eat uncooked rice in the wild. Bobolinks, sometimes called rice birds, are a good example. While rice is okay for birds, many wedding parties now throw birdseed instead.

Read about bird diseases and what to do if you find a sick bird on our website. If you find a bird that you believe needs intervention to survive, contact a wildlife rehabilitator. Never try to capture and care for a wild bird. For most bird species, it is illegal for you to have the bird unless you are under the direction of someone licensed to possess wild birds. The Humane Society website provides contact information for rehabilitators in the U.S. or in Canada.

Birds often carry ticks, especially ticks that attach to the skin around the eyes, bill, and head. These areas are difficult for the bird to preen, and the ticks find a safe haven. Ticks drop off birds when the ticks are finished feeding. There is no long term effect on the bird.

Sometimes FeederWatchers find a dead bird in or around their feeder area. Some scientific institutions can use these dead birds for their research. Report any dead birds to your local health department and to your national health department: National Wildlife Health Center website in the U.S. or Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre (CCWHC) website in Canada. The CCWHC can also be reached by phone at (800) 567-2033.

Cleaning feeders in winter can be challenging, especially in the colder climates where outdoor spouts need to be turned off in winter to prevent freezing. Here are a few tips for cleaning feeders in winter:

• Consider purchasing tube feeders that can be completely disassembled and washed in a diluted bleach solution in the kitchen sink or put in the dishwasher.
• Wash suet feeders and hummingbird feeders in a sink or dishwasher.
• Use platform feeders with removable trays that can be brought inside and washed in the kitchen sink or dishwasher.
• Use disposable “thistle” socks for feeding nyjer seed.

Find more information about cleaning feeders and other tips for safe bird feeding on our website.

Some bacteria, such as Salmonella, are very hardy and can survive in cold temperatures by entering a dormant state until conditions improve. The Avian Pox virus is similar. Some studies of Mycoplasma gallisepticum (the bacteria that cause House Finch eye disease), can survive on your feeders for 24 to 48 hours during moderate temperatures, but survival is shorter at very cold temperatures.

Not only can bacteria and viruses accumulate on seed and feeders, but many cold-loving molds can grow on seed as well. Don’t rely on extreme cold to “wash away” these organisms from your feeder. Be sure to clean your feeders frequently, and rake underneath feeders to clean up seed hulls and waste.

The House Finch eye disease, as well as some other diseases, can spread when healthy birds come in contact with an infected bird or an object touched by an infected bird. Some tube feeders require birds to stick their heads into holes in order to extract seeds. When the eyes of an infected bird come in contact with the opening, the next bird to feed at that perch may pick up the infection. For this reason, feeders should be cleaned every two weeks with a diluted bleach solution or in a dish washer with water hot enough to kill bacteria.

If you notice diseased birds at your feeders, we recommend that you take your feeders in for a couple of weeks to encourage the birds to disperse. For more information on bird diseases, see our diseased birds page.

Blue Jays have been observed chipping and carrying off house paint, especially in the northeast when snow is covering the ground. Researchers believe the Blue Jays are interested in the calcium found in paint, especially light-colored paint, and are stockpiling the paint for spring when they will need extra calcium for egg laying. Providing an alternate source of calcium, such as crushed eggshells, seems to stop the behavior. Learn more about this behavior and the experiences of some FeederWatchers.

Woodpecker damage can be a major problem for some home owners. Lab researchers studied this problem and recommend several ideas for deterring the woodpeckers. Read about woodpecker damage and what to do.

Rodents are attracted to seeds dropped beneath feeders. Once a population is established, it can be very difficult to discourage. The first step is to discontinue feeding for a couple of weeks to encourage the rodent population to disperse. Next, consider ways to feed without any waste falling to the ground. There are several feeders available that will catch dropped seeds, but most of the catch trays aren’t big enough to really do the job. You may want to look into constructing a large catch tray to place under your feeders that you can clean out or remove each night or that can be hung off the ground. The key is to prevent rodents from getting to any seed. Also, it is important to clean any catch tray that you construct, because bird droppings contaminated with bacteria may survive on the catch tray and cause disease among your birds.

As with many birds, the wintering range of American Robins is affected by weather and natural food supply, but as long as food is available, these birds are able to withstand quite severe cold. American Robins do migrate, but their year-round range covers the continental United States and into Southern Canada.

In winter robins form nomadic flocks, which can range in size from 50 birds in the north to thousands in the south. Sometimes the flocks break up in the day while foraging and then gather up again at night to roost in trees. To attract robins, try serving dried or fresh fruit and providing a source of water.

An irruption is the sudden change in the population density of an organism. When speaking of birds, irruptions refer to the movement of northern-wintering species to the south in years of low food availability. Irruptive species include redpolls, Evening Grosbeaks, and Red-breasted Nuthatches, among others.

It is difficult to assess the costs and benefits of bird feeding because it is difficult to compare the health and reproductive success of birds with and without access to feeders. The most thorough studies consider the effects of supplemental food given during the nesting season, and these types of studies tend to find that feeding has a positive effect on reproductive success; in other words, fed birds have more or healthier young. Furthermore, looking at bird populations overall, feeder-birds tend to be doing better than non-feeder birds (see our blog post about population trends in feeder and non-feeder birds).

However, there is very little research demonstrating either positive or negative effects of feeding birds during the winter, so we still have much to learn about the effects of winter bird feeding on survival and fitness. This is why it is especially valuable for people who feed their birds to contribute counts to Project FeederWatch. Simultaneously contributing to programs such as NestWatch can help even more, by allowing us to build a database of winter bird feeding practices and local nesting success. These comparisons are complex, so the more data, the better!

Aside from costs and benefits to birds, there is a cost and benefit to humanity. The costs are obvious–the expense of bird feeding supplies. The benefits include learning more about birds and the joy of connecting with the natural world.

This question has at times been debated in the media. Feeders, especially improperly maintained feeders, can spread disease. However, there’s no way to know if disease transmission at feeders is any less or greater than disease transmission in the wild. Birds that contract and spread diseases, such as salmonellosis, at feeders are typically social by nature and would aggregate whether at feeders or not. Nevertheless, to reduce the risk of disease at feeders, we encourage people to clean feeders regularly. Learn more about safe bird feeding.

Birds become accustomed to a reliable food source and will visit daily. However, birds search for food in many places, so if your feeder goes empty, most birds will find food elsewhere. During periods of extreme ice, snow, or cold, the sudden disappearance of food might be a hardship. If you are leaving town during freezing weather, consider having someone fill your feeder while you’re away.

Some people believe they should stop feeding birds right after Labor Day because the birds’ southward migrations will be interrupted. However, a bird’s migratory urge is primarily triggered by day length (photoperiod), and even an abundance of foods at your feeders will not make a bird resist that urge. In fact, your feeder might provide a needed energy boost along a bird’s migration route.

While it is impossible for us to know the cause of each local increase and decline, there are several common causes for bird population fluctuations.

• Habitat changes affect bird populations. If there has been a change in your neighborhood, such as trees being cut down or new houses being built, that could be the reason you are seeing a decrease in birds.
• Natural food supplies–such as cones, berries, seeds, and insects–fluctuate from year to year, causing birds to shift ranges to take advantage of food surpluses or to compensate for food shortages.
• Weather patterns often cause birds to shift ranges, especially in winter.
• Birds of prey sometimes move into an area causing the local birds to feed elsewhere until the predator moves on.

Bird populations normally fluctuate from one season to the next and from one year to the next. Sometimes, however, there are significant, long-term changes in the numbers of particular birds in certain areas.