Nature: Fewer Birds at your Feeders?

Fewer Birds at your Feeders?

By Richard Keith, Director, KNC’s Kalamazoo Valley Bird Observatory During its 60-year history, the Kalamazoo Nature Center (KNC) has answered wildlife inquiries from the community. Perhaps the most common naturalist question in winter is, “Where have my goldfi nches gone?” From the nearly 40 years of data from our Michigan Winter Feeder Count, we know that the American Goldfi nch is among the most abundant feeder species in Michigan each winter. So why are they sometimes absent, perhaps for extended periods?

People also wonder if we make birds dependent on our feeders. In severe weather events like ice and deep snow, our feeders may be crucial to the survival of some individuals, but most are simply using our feeders as one of many food sources. In early winter, seeds of many plant species are abundant across the landscape, even in places we may consider barren. Flocks of goldfi nch likely have older individuals who know where these food sources are. Later in winter, as natural food sources are consumed or covered with snow, the American Goldfi nch will again visit feeders in numbers.

Hawks are another frequent subject of calls in winter. For most of the year, hawks do not prey on birds at your feeders; even the most common hawks, Sharp-shinned and Cooper’s Hawks, do not take many birds during their breeding season, instead focusing on large insects while feeding their nestlings. In winter, those insects are not available and our feeders look very attractive to hawks. The concentration of birds at feeders is not natural and to the hawks there is something wrong with this picture. The job of hawks in winter is to take diseased, injured or otherwise weak birds out of the picture to insure the overall health of all birds.

We hope you’ll continue to feed birds in winter for your enjoyment. Place some food on the ground for doves, sparrows and yes, even for the squirrels. Every species you see at your feeders will bring joy, including hawks. All of them have evolved in tandem and will continue to thrive in tandem.