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There Are Many Things To Consider When Providing A Bird Feeder

By Debra Garrison


Most anyone enjoys watching birds and listening to their beautiful songs. One way to have ready access to these delights is to provide them food in a bird feeder in order to entice them to come. There are responsibilities involved with attracting them, however. You can be a responsible bird lover by following a few simple suggestions to keep them safe and well provided for.

It is a fact that when they have easy access to a food supply, they become dependent on it. They are like a special pet. When food is readily available, this is not a big issue. But, when food is limited, such as during winter or droughts, it can be a big issue. These animals have not located any good sources of supply, as they have been depending on you. This means they will not be able to find a replacement if you stop providing it.

To prevent undue hardship on your fine feathered friends, don't start feeding them if you are not prepared to continue doing so. If you know you won't be able to continue feeding them on a regular basis in the future, don't start at all. It is best to just supplement their regular source of feeding in order to help make things easier than to be the sole supplier then stop completely. They will then find other sources for when yours is not available.

Birds are heavy eaters, based on their size and weight, consuming several times their weight each day. Since they are small, though, this won't be much. Food suitable for them is very inexpensive. When squirrels and other animals raid the supply, however, soon gets quite costly, as you are constantly having to refill. You may not want to commit to this much expense.

Cats are another concern when you will have to address. You don't want to attract birds to your feeder if they are going to serve as a ready meal for area cats, either yours or your neighbor's. If you take responsibility for attracting them, you must protect them. There are measures you can take to make it difficult for predators to have the opportunity to attack them.

There are things you can do that will help to protect these creatures from these predators. You should hang the feeding station at least five feet away from anything such as trees or bushes from which a predator can climb and jump over. Hanging it on a metal pole will also prevent climbing, and a baffle underneath it offers further protection.

If you want to be a responsible caretaker, you must provide these beautiful creatures with adequate water supplies. Providing watering containers during hot summers or droughts, ensures they have plenty of water. They must be emptied and refilled periodically to keep the water cool and suitable for drinking. This is just one aspect of being a responsible wildlife lover.

Both you and the beautiful birds benefit from your providing a bird feeder. You have a virtual wildlife movie of beautiful, lovely creatures to watch as they cavort about. They get fed and watered. Everyone benefits.




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