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Wildlife Garden

when to stop feeding birds

ellenr22 - NJ - Zone 6b/7a

18 years ago

hello,

I've been feeding birds outside my apt this winter. Last year I stopped in March, when I started working in the garden. Then I heard someone say, that was too early to stop (I don't want to feed them year-round), because nothing was really growing yet for them to eat. Could someone give me an idea when In my location it would be ok to stop because the birds have enough to eat on their own?

thank you,

ellenr

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Comments (5)

Elly_NJ
18 years ago
It has been an easy winter in NJ, so they've had access to natural food sources pretty much all winter. Many eat seeds from plants and flowers that bloomed the summer before.

So I think they're OK.

I'm not sure if there is a designated time to stop feeding. Many people feed year-round; some stop after the thaw.
vonyon
18 years ago
Birds do not depend on human feeding. They will find food in the berries and seeds of natural plants. It is nice to put food out after a heavy snow, but my understanding is that human feeding is not necessary. It is also blamed for the spread of some disease like finch-eye conjunctivities and salmonella. Natural foods spread birds around which helps to minimize disease. Plants also provide cover for birds and nesting sites. Cover gives birds a safe place to hide from predators. Often predatorial birds will notice a concentration of songbirds and will post themselves near feeders. My understanding is that the more important thing to provide is water.
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I am reading through the old stuff to get more knowledge. I found this question and I had the same questions when I first started too. So maybe I can help. Here's what I do. When tray 1 is full of VC - then you add tray 2 and likewise for tray 3 etc. When tray one was virtually full of VC I stopped feeding for a week (I am a once a week feeder so they went 2 weeks without food. I added tray 2 - with bedding only (week 1 of waiting). Then I fed only into tray 2 as there is food left in tray 1 - and they will live there for some time. So they don't all move up right away - but most will in about a month or two. Some will move down into the moisture collection tray - so look there when you add trays - you can dump them into the new tray with the VC they have made in that tray (there shouldn't be too much) and this starts the action going in the new tray. When I added tray 3 - I moved tray 1 to the top so I could use the VC easier - and keep the lid off occasionally - so the worms move down. So I have an "old tray" on the bottom - mostly VC some food (still being processed) and virtually no bedding. The middle tray is the feeding/working tray where I add new food and bedding once a week-ish. The top tray is my VC tray - and I pull VC from there for my garden. This saves me from dumping - and doing too much sorting. I put the VC in a pie-tin and pick trough that (and store it in the VC bin so it is picked through and ready to use) - I find I have a few cocoons - rarely any worms and a few shreds of envelope windows that didn't get composted (I toss those out and return the cocoons to the bin). This works for me (so far) as I have a small system and it is for home use only. Your results may vary.
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Yes, I think we feed every single bird and squirrel in our town by the amount of $ we spend on seed, plus bread and peanuts. We have 4 feeders plus a hummingbird feeder and birdbath in our back yard and 5 feeders plus a hummingbird feeder in our front yard, plus two tube feeders and 3 watering dishes/birdbaths. We call our front yard our "Wildlife Entertainment Center". Some of those crazy squirrels we have named: Barny, Metal, Logger, Chewy, Loco and Loco Jr. Soon we will have an influx of redwinged blackbirds that will strip all feeders clean. This happens twice a year. They stay around at least 3 months each time.Our feed bill doubles then. Our hummers have left now to travel further south and won't return until April. Sure miss those little darlings.
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chrsvic
18 years ago
As far as feeding seeds like sunflower and thistle, you can feed year-round if you like. One advantage of summer feeding is you might draw in interesting birds like rose breasted grosbeaks, or indigo buntings, which you wouldn't see feeding in winter.

Some say feeding birds in late winter/early spring puts them in better shape for the breeding season. Here in Ohio, its still cold (and we're expecting 3 to 5 inches of snow!) so i'm keeping the feeders filled for awhile.
natureboy
18 years ago
In Winter, birds get only a minimal percentage of their food from feeders, though it may seem otherwise. They're incredibly adept at finding what they need. God just kinda made them that way. But, my advice, stop when you wanna stop. If you're feeding them to feed them and not also to enjoy watching them, it shouldn't really matter much to the birds. I'd say, feed 'em until things really start to green up and grow. Just my thought though.
loris
18 years ago
I signed up to receive email's from the National Wildlife Federation, and so saw a link related to topic. It says that feeding in March can make things easier on the birds since most natural sources are at their lowest levels at this time.

I still have a bird feeder, but am starting to believe supplying food naturally through plants is the best method to avoid disease spreading from overcrowding. The link did say the birds aren't dependent on the feeder food.

Here is a link that might be useful: NWF Wildlife link about March tough month for birds

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