Leaving food in your garden for wildlife to enjoy is often a no-brainer. However, gardeners are urged to avoid letting birds feed from their hands as it can potentially endanger local birds.
We know that birds will often swoop in and steal our food, sometimes coming a little too close for comfort. Nevertheless, it’s essential that when leaving food out for birds, you avoid coming in direct contact with them.
Even though some birds may feel comfortable landing and feeding directly from your palm, you are advised to avoid doing so. Hand-feeding birds can alter their behaviour in harmful ways and can also spread diseases to humans.
Birds often carry and spread harmful bacteria and diseases, such as bird flu, salmonellosis and Newcastle disease, which can be transmitted to humans via hand feeding. These diseases are typically spread through contact with bird droppings, dust from feathers, or direct contact with infected birds.
Additionally, hand-feeding birds can dramatically alter their natural behaviors. Birds may become more aggressive, beg for food excessively, and develop a strong association between humans and food, potentially impacting their survival in the wild.
Furthermore, hand-feeding birds can lead to a dependency on humans for food. Ultimately causing the birds to starve if you’re not around.
However, if a bird does land in your hand, don’t panic. Remain calm, and wash your hands immediately.
Installing a bird feeder is a great way to welcome local birds to your garden. Feeding birds is becoming more imperative than ever before, but doing so correctly is essential.
According to shocking government data, bird species across the UK have declined by 16% since the 1970s. This is due to a range of factors, but most notably, the loss of natural habitat from farming and pesticide use, which has ultimately led to a rapid depletion of their food sources.
Therefore, having a bird feeder in your garden is a greatly beneficial way to help out local wildlife, especially now as they enter their breeding season.
Bird feeders help compensate for birds’ lack of natural vegetation and encourage them to stay in your garden. Some popular bird foods include suet, nuts, seeds, and dried fruit. These contain high levels of fat, which birds require after a long winter.
So this spring, as you welcome birds back to your garden, be sure to protect yourself and the birds by avoiding hand feeding. Instead, opt for a bird feeder and wait for the birds to enter your backyard.
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