It's OK to feed the birds, says new research from Oregon State University

(July 3, 2021) Millions of people in the United States have bird feeders. They like to attract birds to their yards. However, some people believe that humans should not feed birds. They believe the birds will become dependent upon them for food. They think that if the food stops, the birds will be in danger. They think birds should find their own food.

Scientists at Oregon State University (OSU) in Corvallis have good news for people who like to have bird feeders. Their research shows that small songbirds who visit the feeders seem unlikely to develop an unhealthy reliance on them. ("Reliance" means dependence. If the birds rely on food in bird feeders, then they might not survive without them.)

The scientists say that feeding small birds has both negative and positive effects. On the negative side, it can contribute to disease and change community structure and migration behavior. On the positive side, it can help birds survive the winter and support reproduction.

In this new research, the scientists studied 67 black-capped chickadees. The birds had radio chips. Bird feeders in the area were filled with sunflower seeds and chip readers. The bird feeders measured visits by different groups of birds.

“There’s still much we don’t know about how intentional feeding might induce changes in wild bird populations, but our study suggests that putting out food for small birds in winter will not lead to an increased dependence on human-provided food,” said Jim Rivers. He is an animal ecologist with the OSU College of Forestry, and he was one of the scientists who did the research.