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A pair of acrobatic American goldfinches alight on a cylindrical hanging bird feeder, hungrily searching for thistle seeds. A shadow plays across them, and the goldfinches dive to the safety of a nearby shrub. A large hairy woodpecker lands on a nearby feeder filled with peanuts. Relieved, the goldfinches dart back to the thistle feeder.

Nearly a third of North America's adult population enjoys bird feeding, according to the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology (CLO). Feeding birds is an excellent way for people to learn about wildlife, says Allison Wells, CLO communications and outreach director. "It's relaxing and enjoyable, and people who start out feeding birds often become good stewards of the land."

Because some people worry that bird feeding disrupts natural patterns, the practice has long been debated by the environmental, bird-watching and home-owning communities. The National Bird-Feeding Society (NBFS) says bird feeding has only positive effects on the environment. John Bianchi, spokesperson for the National Audubon Society, adds, "Wild bird feeding is all pros and no cons." He says bird feeders help offset pressures from development, pollution, pesticides and the widespread planting of non-native vegetation. "Despite common beliefs," says Bianchi, "there is no evidence that feeding wild birds changes their migratory patterns or makes them in any way dependent on people."

Go Wild

Sue Wells, NBFS executive director, says the society's goal is to help people use their yards to give something back to birds and wildlife. She says, "The green carpet lawn is not attractive to any birds except, perhaps, robins." The NBFS urges people to "leave it wild" by planting native plants and grasses, making brush piles, tending hedge rows, leaving dead trees in place, keeping house cats indoors and allowing patches of land to develop naturally wherever possible.

# posted by Medical Information : 3:28 AM