Lawn & Garden

By SALLIE SATTERTHWAITE
Staff Writer

Fall migration has begun and many birds are heading south for the food that will remain abundant in climates warmer than ours. Is the daily pleasure of watching the comings and goings of our tiny neighbors all over for bird lovers in Georgia?

Not at all. This part of Georgia IS the South in which many birds from much farther north will spend the cold months. And one of the nicest perks of living here is that one can actually see more birds here, both in variety and numbers, in the winter than in the summer.

Right now, food supplies are abundant, with insects, seeds, and larvae still plentiful, even in our urban environment. But as cold weather slows the growing season, seeds become more scarce, and the remaining creepy-crawlers are either killed or deep underground.

Fall is the ideal time to begin feeding birds if you have not done so over the summer. Once the birds learn where they can find a dependable food supply, they will continue to return to it during the more severe weather. And as the leaves come off the trees, birds are easier to observe.

Between 60 and 70 million Americans maintain bird feeders, making this an outdoor hobby second only to gardening. But some people who feed birds often worry needlessly about making birds unnaturally dependent on human beings. According to the nonprofit National Bird-Feeding Society, birds with access to supplemental feeding fare better in winter than those that do not.

Tiny birds like chickadees, sparrows, and warblers are particularly at risk in frigid weather because their metabolic rates are high and they have less fat to maintain body heat. And while larger birds seem to endure cold better, all birds require more food in winter just to stay alive.

About 20 percent of the food a bird eats in cold weather is needed just to keep him alive, never mind supplying energy requirements to fly, elude predators, and find food.

Nevertheless, chickadees appear to get only about 25 percent of their total food requirements from backyard feeders; the rest is found in their natural habitat.

One possible exception is the rufous hummingbird, seen in Georgia for the past several winters. Many persons who feed ruby-throated hummingbirds now leave sugar-water feeders out all winter to supply these unusual visitors who have wandered in or been blown out of their normal ranges.

The NBS says the distribution of birds may or may not be affected by backyard feeding. While it is true that some species -- including cardinals, goldfinches, blue jays, and mourning doves -- seem to be expanding their ranges northward, the NBS says the centuries-long evolution of bird migration patterns has probably not changed because of the increase in bird-feeding over the past three decades.

Introduced species such as starlings and house sparrows would probably not survive without human handouts. These species compete for nesting space with native species like cavity-dwelling eastern bluebirds and purple martins by destroying the eggs and chicks of the natives. But even if these birds did not get food from feeders, garbage and litter also man-made would probably support them.

Nonetheless, on balance, the NBS believes that feeding birds is better than not feeding them. It appears that urban and suburban feeding offsets to a great degree the urban destruction of bird habitats.

And through feeding of birds and gaining an understanding of their needs, people become more concerned for the environment. These people are more likely to participate in, and contribute to, programs that involve and benefit all wildlife.

Back to the Top of the PageBack to the Lawn & Garden Home Page