At Tahoe, feed the birds but not the bears

RENO, NEV. >> Don’t feed the bears!

Wildlife biologists and forest rangers have preached the mantra for nearly a century at national parks like Yellowstone and Yosemite, and for decades in areas where urban development increasingly invaded native wildlife habitat.

But don’t feed the birds? That may be a different story, at least for one bird species at Lake Tahoe.

Snowshoe and crosscountry ski enthusiasts routinely feed the tiny mountain chickadees high above the north shore of the alpine lake on the California-Nevada border.

The black-capped birds of Chickadee Ridge will even perch on extended hands to snatch offered seeds.

New research from University of Nevada scientists found that supplementing the chickadees’ natural food sources with food provided in feeders or by hand did not negatively impact them, as long as proper food is used and certain rules are followed.

“It’s a wonderful experience when the birds fly around and land on your hand to grab food. We call it ‘becoming a Disney princess,’” said Benjamin Sonnenberg, a biologist/ behavioral ecologist who co-authored the six-year study.

But he also recognized “there’s always the question of when it is appropriate or not appropriate to feed birds in the wild.”

State wildlife officials said this month they generally frown on feeding wildlife. But Nevada Department of Wildlife spokeswoman Ashley Sanchez acknowledged concerns about potential harm are based on speculation, not scientific data.

The latest research project under the wings of Professor Vladimir Pravosudov’s Chickadee Cognition Lab established feeders in the Forest Service’s Mount Rose Wilderness and tracked populations of mountain chickadees at two elevations, those that did and didn’t visit feeders.