15 ms·

Feeding wild animals can lead to trouble

62 points by codermobile 7y ago

keanzu 7y ago
Except maybe birds. In a study recently published in the journal Nature Communications, Plummer found that people are seeing a more diverse array of bird species in backyards now than they did in the 1970s. And this change has coincided with the evolution of the birdfeeder market.
- rjsw 7y ago
  And insects.
  - Ensorceled 7y ago
    Insects populations are declining world wide[1]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decline_in_insect_populations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decline_in_insect_populations
    - rjsw 7y ago
      I meant that we could plant things for insects to eat.
      - Ensorceled 7y ago
        That’s the problem with short comments; it’s unclear which of several interpretations you meant.
- hvs 7y ago
  Unfortunately, many people put out bird feeders that support the House Sparrow which is an invasive species in the U.S. that crowds out (and actively kills) local species. https://nestwatch.org/learn/all-about-birdhouses/managing-house-sparrows-and-european-starlings/ https://nestwatch.org/learn/all-about-birdhouses/managing-ho... https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/what-do-about-house-sparrows https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/what-do-about-house-... I am all for feeding birds as long as people research the bird feeders and food that they are providing.
  - faitswulff 7y ago
    Any sources for sparrows crowding out or killing local species? Last I heard they were mostly benign in the Americas.
    - ip26 7y ago
      http://www.treeswallowprojects.com/spardam.html http://www.treeswallowprojects.com/spardam.html
      - jacobush 7y ago
        This made me sad.
    - skypanther 7y ago
      http://sialis.org/hosp.htm http://sialis.org/hosp.htm
    - MaDeuce 7y ago
      In the Texas Hill Country bluebirds used to be common. I'm not claiming that their decline is due to house sparrows, but it's clear that house sparrows can be quite harmful to many cavity-dwelling native birds. They can be extremely desrtuctive; it is not uncommon for them to kill both parents and offspring to take over a nest or nesting spot. One of many resources on the topic: http://bluebirdnut.com/house-sparrows/ http://bluebirdnut.com/house-sparrows/
  - mrec 7y ago
    Interesting. House sparrows are native in the UK, and were extremely common here when I was a kid, but have been declining for decades to the point where they're now on the conservation red-list.
newphonewhodis 7y ago
The Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative has a nice fact sheet on back yard bird feeders and trichomonosis[1]. [1] http://www.cwhc-rcsf.ca/docs/fact_sheets/Trich_Factsheet_EN.pdf http://www.cwhc-rcsf.ca/docs/fact_sheets/Trich_Factsheet_EN....
pg_bot 7y ago
This quote jumped out at me. "In a study recently published in the journal Nature Communications, Plummer found that people are seeing a more diverse array of bird species in backyards now than they did in the 1970s. And this change has coincided with the evolution of the birdfeeder market." I wonder what effect this has had on insect populations. My immediate thought was better bird feeders and bird seed => more birds => fewer insects.
- aszantu 7y ago
  yep, thought that as well
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- rlonn 7y ago
  Usually, lack of insects near humans is because humans destroy or remove their habitat and food - mainly decaying plant matter (fallen trees especially). Insect populations then dwindle, which means bird populations do also. If birds start to reappear because of backyard bird feeding, I bet the insects were already gone (or the birds wouldn't have disappeared in the first place)
- olalonde 7y ago
  My immediate thought was better bird feeders => birds don't need to eat insects => more insects. You're probably right though given that insect populations are indeed in decline.
aszantu 7y ago
"Foraging in the wild" there is practically no wild left in Germany. Some wolves came back and our politicians decided to issure hunting licenses for them... Not many points left for not feeding except for the transmission of deseases. That said, I've got a mealworm farm, and some bugs infiltrated it, so I'm putting those larvae out for the bird, but only one bird comes.
- badpun 7y ago
  There are close to no birds at all around where you live in? Is this a city location or more rural? Either way, I cannot phantom it really.
  - aszantu 7y ago
    there are some birds here, but mostly european sparrows, they don't fly high from the hedges, some black birds and ravens and the little yellow/grey bird that comes to me
- nanomonkey 7y ago
  > I've got a mealworm farm Tell me more! This sounds interesting.
  - aszantu 7y ago
    order some mealworms online, put them in a bucket with oatmeal,throw in kittchen scraps -> perfect pet, never dies off unless you drown 'em. U can use them to enrich your standard meal with protein, they have a great ratio protein/fat and you can make keto treats out of them or use them to make treats for the dog. U can use them to feed your local fish, birds, hedgehogs, mice, rats. They can be used to recycle certain types of plastic, and their composition doesn't change much. They usually don't like it moist(desert insects), but somehow they got in my terrarium and are thiving there. I keep them around as another food source for times of starvation (kinda paranoid about crisis). Fastest way of killing them is by drowning, they'll move forever in a microwave or frying pan. They'll eat anything that contains moisture, preferably protein. I've fed them roadkill, eggshells(they scrape the inside of the shell and make it pretty brittle), other insects, all kinds of veggies, a few of them die when there's pesticides on the food - a good way to test your local veggies for them. The only thing they won't touch is a cookie from McDonalds. If even the bugs avoid that we shouldn't prolly be eating that. The larvae and pupae are edible, the bugs are yummy to birds, but I wouldn't try one, they smell bad when stressed. The bugs can fly and will if there's over population or not enough food. Bugs love protein as well, but seem to be doing fine just with cardboard and occasional water spraying.
js2 7y ago
> how that’s effecting the composition Affecting. We have several squirrel resistant feeders for both seed and suet here in Raleigh NC and have not had a problem (afaik) with invasive birds. We also have hummingbird feeders, a vegetable garden, a peach tree and a blueberry bush, as well as bee and butterfly friendly plants. It’s impossible to keep the squirrels away. Even though they can’t eat from the feeders directly, they constantly probe them for weaknesses, eat seed off the ground, steal from our peach tree, etc. They are really terrible pests. We also have trouble with rabbits eating our flowers and ground plants, but it’s a little harder to be upset by them. We have to surround our blueberry bush in bird netting but somehow a bird still seems to find its way in so we only get about half our bush’s blueberries. We get robins, blue birds, cardinals, jays, mockingbirds, woodpeckers, grackles, finches, wrens, chickadees and others. The hummingbirds are usually the most fun to watch. You can watch them bulk up from when they first arrive till they are ready to migrate. They are very aggressive with each other. Our feeder could easily feed four at a time but that never happens because as soon as one lands another tries to chase him or her off. If I’m sitting outside they’ll occasionally fly near to inspect me but they are very skittish. I’ve seen them fight with wasps that also like to land on the feeder. The Carolina wrens will try to nest just about anywhere. One year I discovered one trying to make a nest in my bicycle helmet which was hanging in the garage. We have to be careful trimming bushes midsummer not to disturb any nests. The plants and wildlife make our yard so much more pleasant and interesting. Our most recent addition is a solar powered fountain/bird bath to the two baths we already had. The birds really appreciate the baths in the summer time. Even the squirrels sometimes drink from them.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- ggggtez 7y ago
  If I had to read a comment pointing out every misspelling on the internet, I just wouldn't use the internet at all. This type of comment adds very little value to other people.
  - js2 7y ago
    I made the comment more interesting but to your point, this isn’t a spelling mistake, it’s a usage error. Affect/effect are different words which are sometimes confused. Usually “affect” is used as a verb and “effect” as a noun but affect has a noun form and effect has a verb form. They mean different things. Also, this isn’t just “on the Internet”—it’s published by National Geographic, a prestigious organization. I’m a not a hard core prescriptivist but the writer in this case is simply wrong. It’s a mistake that should have been caught by an editor, though I doubt, sadly, any editor was involved.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
daodedickinson 7y ago
This logic is only fair if applied to homo sapiens sapiens animals, too. They aren't any less clever at being short-term efficient at their own long-term peril and any careful observer of California can tell you of the growing threat they pose as carriers of diseases "spread by exposure to urine, saliva, and feces".
phkahler 7y ago
I'd like to attract birds of prey to eat all the rabbits, squirrels and other varmints that have been proliferating lately.
nradov 7y ago
In my Bay Area neighborhood, residents have been feeding coyotes by letting their cats run loose outside. Then when the coyotes eat the cats, those idiots get mad because Santa Clara County Vector Control won't do something to remove the coyotes. https://www.sccgov.org/sites/vector/programs-and-services/wildlife/Pages/home.aspx https://www.sccgov.org/sites/vector/programs-and-services/wi...
- Beefin 7y ago
  How are they “feeding coyotes by letting their cats run loose”?
  - tecleandor 7y ago
    It's like you were giving them live bait.
  - pixl97 7y ago
    Cause cats running loose is a terrible problem itself. They are small mammals dedicated to the art of murder. They tend to wipe out native species.
    - jtms 7y ago
      Yep - if you care about your cat and you care about your environment then keep you cats indoors
  - jtms 7y ago
    It was what earth persons call “humor”
  - astura 7y ago
    Cats are coyote food.

62 points by codermobile 7y ago

Except maybe birds. In a study recently published in the journal Nature Communications, Plummer found that people are seeing a more diverse array of bird species in backyards now than they did in the 1970s. And this change has coincided with the evolution of the birdfeeder market.

rjsw 7y ago
And insects.
- Ensorceled 7y ago
  Insects populations are declining world wide[1]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decline_in_insect_populations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decline_in_insect_populations
  - rjsw 7y ago
    I meant that we could plant things for insects to eat.
    - Ensorceled 7y ago
      That’s the problem with short comments; it’s unclear which of several interpretations you meant.
hvs 7y ago
Unfortunately, many people put out bird feeders that support the House Sparrow which is an invasive species in the U.S. that crowds out (and actively kills) local species. https://nestwatch.org/learn/all-about-birdhouses/managing-house-sparrows-and-european-starlings/ https://nestwatch.org/learn/all-about-birdhouses/managing-ho... https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/what-do-about-house-sparrows https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/what-do-about-house-... I am all for feeding birds as long as people research the bird feeders and food that they are providing.
- faitswulff 7y ago
  Any sources for sparrows crowding out or killing local species? Last I heard they were mostly benign in the Americas.
  - ip26 7y ago
    http://www.treeswallowprojects.com/spardam.html http://www.treeswallowprojects.com/spardam.html
    - jacobush 7y ago
      This made me sad.
  - skypanther 7y ago
    http://sialis.org/hosp.htm http://sialis.org/hosp.htm
  - MaDeuce 7y ago
    In the Texas Hill Country bluebirds used to be common. I'm not claiming that their decline is due to house sparrows, but it's clear that house sparrows can be quite harmful to many cavity-dwelling native birds. They can be extremely desrtuctive; it is not uncommon for them to kill both parents and offspring to take over a nest or nesting spot. One of many resources on the topic: http://bluebirdnut.com/house-sparrows/ http://bluebirdnut.com/house-sparrows/
- mrec 7y ago
  Interesting. House sparrows are native in the UK, and were extremely common here when I was a kid, but have been declining for decades to the point where they're now on the conservation red-list.

newphonewhodis 7y ago

The Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative has a nice fact sheet on back yard bird feeders and trichomonosis[1]. [1] http://www.cwhc-rcsf.ca/docs/fact_sheets/Trich_Factsheet_EN.pdf http://www.cwhc-rcsf.ca/docs/fact_sheets/Trich_Factsheet_EN....

pg_bot 7y ago

This quote jumped out at me. "In a study recently published in the journal Nature Communications, Plummer found that people are seeing a more diverse array of bird species in backyards now than they did in the 1970s. And this change has coincided with the evolution of the birdfeeder market." I wonder what effect this has had on insect populations. My immediate thought was better bird feeders and bird seed => more birds => fewer insects.

aszantu 7y ago
yep, thought that as well
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
rlonn 7y ago
Usually, lack of insects near humans is because humans destroy or remove their habitat and food - mainly decaying plant matter (fallen trees especially). Insect populations then dwindle, which means bird populations do also. If birds start to reappear because of backyard bird feeding, I bet the insects were already gone (or the birds wouldn't have disappeared in the first place)
olalonde 7y ago
My immediate thought was better bird feeders => birds don't need to eat insects => more insects. You're probably right though given that insect populations are indeed in decline.

aszantu 7y ago

"Foraging in the wild" there is practically no wild left in Germany. Some wolves came back and our politicians decided to issure hunting licenses for them... Not many points left for not feeding except for the transmission of deseases. That said, I've got a mealworm farm, and some bugs infiltrated it, so I'm putting those larvae out for the bird, but only one bird comes.

badpun 7y ago
There are close to no birds at all around where you live in? Is this a city location or more rural? Either way, I cannot phantom it really.
- aszantu 7y ago
  there are some birds here, but mostly european sparrows, they don't fly high from the hedges, some black birds and ravens and the little yellow/grey bird that comes to me
nanomonkey 7y ago
> I've got a mealworm farm Tell me more! This sounds interesting.
- aszantu 7y ago
  order some mealworms online, put them in a bucket with oatmeal,throw in kittchen scraps -> perfect pet, never dies off unless you drown 'em. U can use them to enrich your standard meal with protein, they have a great ratio protein/fat and you can make keto treats out of them or use them to make treats for the dog. U can use them to feed your local fish, birds, hedgehogs, mice, rats. They can be used to recycle certain types of plastic, and their composition doesn't change much. They usually don't like it moist(desert insects), but somehow they got in my terrarium and are thiving there. I keep them around as another food source for times of starvation (kinda paranoid about crisis). Fastest way of killing them is by drowning, they'll move forever in a microwave or frying pan. They'll eat anything that contains moisture, preferably protein. I've fed them roadkill, eggshells(they scrape the inside of the shell and make it pretty brittle), other insects, all kinds of veggies, a few of them die when there's pesticides on the food - a good way to test your local veggies for them. The only thing they won't touch is a cookie from McDonalds. If even the bugs avoid that we shouldn't prolly be eating that. The larvae and pupae are edible, the bugs are yummy to birds, but I wouldn't try one, they smell bad when stressed. The bugs can fly and will if there's over population or not enough food. Bugs love protein as well, but seem to be doing fine just with cardboard and occasional water spraying.

js2 7y ago

> how that’s effecting the composition Affecting. We have several squirrel resistant feeders for both seed and suet here in Raleigh NC and have not had a problem (afaik) with invasive birds. We also have hummingbird feeders, a vegetable garden, a peach tree and a blueberry bush, as well as bee and butterfly friendly plants. It’s impossible to keep the squirrels away. Even though they can’t eat from the feeders directly, they constantly probe them for weaknesses, eat seed off the ground, steal from our peach tree, etc. They are really terrible pests. We also have trouble with rabbits eating our flowers and ground plants, but it’s a little harder to be upset by them. We have to surround our blueberry bush in bird netting but somehow a bird still seems to find its way in so we only get about half our bush’s blueberries. We get robins, blue birds, cardinals, jays, mockingbirds, woodpeckers, grackles, finches, wrens, chickadees and others. The hummingbirds are usually the most fun to watch. You can watch them bulk up from when they first arrive till they are ready to migrate. They are very aggressive with each other. Our feeder could easily feed four at a time but that never happens because as soon as one lands another tries to chase him or her off. If I’m sitting outside they’ll occasionally fly near to inspect me but they are very skittish. I’ve seen them fight with wasps that also like to land on the feeder. The Carolina wrens will try to nest just about anywhere. One year I discovered one trying to make a nest in my bicycle helmet which was hanging in the garage. We have to be careful trimming bushes midsummer not to disturb any nests. The plants and wildlife make our yard so much more pleasant and interesting. Our most recent addition is a solar powered fountain/bird bath to the two baths we already had. The birds really appreciate the baths in the summer time. Even the squirrels sometimes drink from them.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
ggggtez 7y ago
If I had to read a comment pointing out every misspelling on the internet, I just wouldn't use the internet at all. This type of comment adds very little value to other people.
- js2 7y ago
  I made the comment more interesting but to your point, this isn’t a spelling mistake, it’s a usage error. Affect/effect are different words which are sometimes confused. Usually “affect” is used as a verb and “effect” as a noun but affect has a noun form and effect has a verb form. They mean different things. Also, this isn’t just “on the Internet”—it’s published by National Geographic, a prestigious organization. I’m a not a hard core prescriptivist but the writer in this case is simply wrong. It’s a mistake that should have been caught by an editor, though I doubt, sadly, any editor was involved.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

daodedickinson 7y ago

This logic is only fair if applied to homo sapiens sapiens animals, too. They aren't any less clever at being short-term efficient at their own long-term peril and any careful observer of California can tell you of the growing threat they pose as carriers of diseases "spread by exposure to urine, saliva, and feces".

phkahler 7y ago

I'd like to attract birds of prey to eat all the rabbits, squirrels and other varmints that have been proliferating lately.

nradov 7y ago

In my Bay Area neighborhood, residents have been feeding coyotes by letting their cats run loose outside. Then when the coyotes eat the cats, those idiots get mad because Santa Clara County Vector Control won't do something to remove the coyotes. https://www.sccgov.org/sites/vector/programs-and-services/wildlife/Pages/home.aspx https://www.sccgov.org/sites/vector/programs-and-services/wi...

Beefin 7y ago
How are they “feeding coyotes by letting their cats run loose”?
- tecleandor 7y ago
  It's like you were giving them live bait.
- pixl97 7y ago
  Cause cats running loose is a terrible problem itself. They are small mammals dedicated to the art of murder. They tend to wipe out native species.
  - jtms 7y ago
    Yep - if you care about your cat and you care about your environment then keep you cats indoors
- jtms 7y ago
  It was what earth persons call “humor”
- astura 7y ago
  Cats are coyote food.