Is bread harming native birds?
Feeling sorry for our feathered friends in the garden as the temperatures drop?
Well, don’t act on it by throwing them some crumbs – as, according to new research, throwing out leftover bread and cereal could do more harm than good, especially for our native birds.
Auckland university PhD student Josie Galbraith was part of a team of Australasian scientists looking at the effects of feeding on native bird populations.
They found that half of Kiwi households routinely feed the birds in their garden, most commonly with bread and grain.
The scientists monitored 23 gardens in Auckland over 18 months, in which half put out bread and seed every day and the other half offered no food.
The study found that the ‘‘feeding’’ gardens certainly attracted more birds, but these were more likely to be exotic ones such as house sparrows, spotted doves and European starlings.
Of the four native birds commonly seen in Auckland gardens – tui, fantail, silvereyes and grey warblers – numbers for the first three appeared to be unaffected, but only half as many grey warblers were seen in gardens where food was being offered.
‘‘The grey warbler is a tiny insecteating bird, so it was probably being disturbed when foraging [by the large numbers of exotic birds] and had to go to quieter places to find the insects it needed,’’ Galbraith says.
Although the other native birds did not seem to be affected by householders putting out bread and seed over the 18 months of the study, Josie says further research might give a different result.
‘‘I definitely think there might be further impact long-term. Some things like the effect of competition take years to be seen. In Australia they are only now getting empirical evidence of the impact the common mynah is having on their native birds – and it’s been there for decades.’’
What’s more, says Galbraith, large numbers of birds crowded around a feeder increases the transmission of avian diseases, not only between birds but from birds to people – so it’s essential to keep any bird feeding spots scrupulously clean.
Galbraith says she would now think hard before feeding birds in her own garden.
‘‘I get why people do it – they like interacting with wildlife. But I have stopped feeding bread to birds now. I might still feed them sugar water, though, which will support our own nectar-feeding native birds, especially in winter.’’
Galbraith also suggests planting your garden with native birds in mind, so they can forage for themselves and have a supportive habitat.
‘‘Planting a bird-friendly garden has far more secondary benefits than just providing a food source. If you make a bird-friendly garden, you make a garden that is friendly for all sorts of other things. And in the end that’s the best thing for the birds too.’’