Do birds become dependent on feeders? (Here’s what science says)
“Will birds become dependent on my bird feeders?”
The above question is one that I get often. And honestly, I completely understand why it’s a concern for many people.
On the surface, it feels like feeding birds is a good thing, right? We put food in our feeders, assuming that the extra nutrition will help them survive cold winters, intense breeding seasons, or competition from invasive species.
But what if we are wrong, and feeding birds can cause more harm than good?
In particular, if our avian friends became dependent on our bird feeders, that would be a very bad thing. That means that if we ever stopped feeding them, they would struggle to find food on their own and eventually suffer and die.
And as someone who actively promotes the hobby of bird feeding, I would be personally responsible for the death of A LOT of birds
So, as you can see, I wanted to answer the “do birds become dependent on feeders” question once and for all.
And luckily, the science is clear:
Birds DO NOT become dependent on bird feeders.
Let’s dive into the research below.
Study #1:
Jim Rivers, an animal ecologist with the Oregon State University College of Forestry, released a study in the Journal of Avian Biology that looked directly at whether Black-capped Chickadees become dependent on food provided by humans.
The study took a unique approach to test their hypothesis. Rivers observed the feeder use of 67 chickadees, divided into three groups. The first group had their primary flight feathers heavily clipped, the second group had them lightly clipped, while the control group’s wings were not clipped at all. Clipping the wings alters the wing load and increases the energy needs for the bird.
If birds depended on bird feeders, the scientists thought the handicapped chickadees would increase their daily visits to feeders to compensate for their increased energy needs.
But something surprising happened.
The chickadees with clipped wings actually DECREASED their visits to bird feeders. Instead, they relied more on naturally available foods like invertebrates, berries, and other seeds. Then, as the flight feathers grew back, they started visiting bird feeders like normal again. (On a side note, it’s thought the chickadees didn’t visit feeders as much because they were worried about predation with their decreased flying ability.)
Rivers himself concluded, “It’s clear that the chickadees in our study did not increase their visitation rates nor did they increase their reliance on supplemental feed during a period when they might have benefited from it the most.” Read the entire research paper here!
Study #2:
The next research was done by Margaret Brittingham and Stanley Temple of the University of Wisconsin at Madison. They looked directly at what happens to Black-capped Chickadees when feeders are taken away from them.
Here’s what the researchers did:
They studied two different populations of chickadees during winter. The first group had access to a bird feeder. The second group did not have a feeder and relied solely on natural foods.
To test feeder dependency, the researchers REMOVED the bird feeder, which had been there for 25 years. As a result, these chickadees now had to suddenly switch to only eating what they could find naturally.
Would the chickadees waste too much time looking for the bird feeder? Did they forget how to find natural food sources, like invertebrates, berries, and other seeds?
The answer is a resounding NO!
The researchers found that both groups of chickadees survived well, with no differences in survival rate between the two groups. The chickadees that had access to a bird feeder had no problems when it was removed. Read the entire study HERE!
My thoughts on bird feeder dependency:
In my opinion, thinking that birds become dependent on feeders doesn’t give birds enough credit!
Feeding birds has only gained popularity for the past 50 years or so. In the grand scheme of things, bird feeding is a relatively new hobby.
On the other hand, birds have adapted and evolved over MILLIONS of years. Let’s remember that birds evolved from dinosaurs. I don’t know this for sure, but I’m pretty sure a T-rex would never become dependent on a single food source. 🙂
Do we really think that setting out a little bit of food is going to erase a bird’s instinct to survive?
Putting it like this, it makes me feel arrogant for even asking the question and doesn’t give birds the respect they deserve.
Disappearing food sources are a constant thing in the life of any bird. Whether it’s a tree producing seeds for a few weeks, a fruit tree that has just started to ripen, or an insect species that only matures at a particular time of year, they have no problems moving from one food source to another.
In our minds, we know that the bird feeder we set up is a permanent source of food. But to the birds, they have no idea that it’s going to be there tomorrow. They show up, find your seeds, and satisfy their energy requirements for the day.
But the second there is no food at the feeders, they will start searching and foraging elsewhere. No problems at all for the birds!
So quit worrying that feeding birds will make them dependent on your help.
Luckily, we are just not that important to them. 🙂
Let me know what you think below!
How long does it generally take for birds to get used to a new Feeder? Thanks
The only time I was concerned was when a couple of juvenile downeys were frequenting the feeder, and I thought they let me get way too close (I was actually taking a feeder down before one of them flew off!). So now I take feeders down in May after migration season and put them up again in October. It is a lot of fun to see the jockeying at the feeders.
Thanks! That makes me feel much better.
Thanks for the knowledge and it was so helpful. We have many birdfeeders and I love to see the different kind of birds personalities. They are very entertaining!🥰
In the fall folling a hard frost, we leave a lot of seed bearing plants remain in the gardens, for the small birds. We do not cut them back until early spring, when new growth appears. If seeds are drpeed, that is okay, because new plants will come up, saving us the trouble of buying new ones, OR we dig them up, pot them and donate them to a plant sale. It’s a win, win, win, all the way around.
I wonder about lack of feeders when there is snow cover and little access to bugs.
That’s good to know as I do worry about that. Thank you!!
Certainly, I have been wondering about bird abonnement myself. I feed and provide water all summer and add a bird bath heater when freezing starts. However, come November, I start to narrow down food supply as I hope to cut the mouse population that invades my garage and camping trailer. In January, I snowbird out of town, giving the last feeder one last fill-up [last supper], bringing in the water heater, it may freeze before I leave town, and/or turn to dirty. to drink. They are all on their own until I return in May. The best I can do is wish them all luck and hope the neighbors keep their buffet going.
I’ve been feeding birds for 30+ years. We moved to a new house a few years ago, and since then I’ve completely removed my feeders for the months of May and June because we get flocks of red-wing black birds and grackles. I don’t mind them eating what I put out, but unlike the other birds, they tend to perch on the new growth leaders of the young pine trees that I’ve planted. This breaks the leading growth of the trees. I return the feeders in July when the new leaders are established and stronger. By that time the blackbirds are busy feeding insects to their young, and things return to normal!
Thank you. My niece thinks my feeders will “spoil” them. I say good, they need more of that kind of attention. I tried to explain that millions of years of surviving quite well on their own wouldn’t change overnight, but you did a better job of that here. In this day and age, I find it comforting that I can reduce their stress, even if just for a short time. Protect birds and we protect the Earth.
I have often wondered this myself. This article was very reassuring. I am alone now and live in a small apartment, second floor, with a small (6x 10 foot) balcony outside the double glass doors on the west side of my living room. I have several feeders and a heated watering pan out there and really enjoy so much watching the birds come and go. Thank you so very much for sharing. LJO in SD
For about 6 years we had a male cardinal that nested in our yard. Because of squirrels, my mother put out food a couple times a day when it came to the feeder. It would click to her if there was no food there, fly to a nearby tree if it had babies or across the yard if none and wait for her to put feed out. If she didn’t appear, it would look elsewhere. For the last 2 years, it had been driven out of its territory but still came to the feeder.
Enjoyed your research very much. I agree that feeding the birds doesn’t change their ability to fend for themselves, a GOD given survival instinct. The T-Rex becoming a Cardinal was a pretty funny example to illustrate the point of evolution of birds over the thousands of years of their existence.
Keep em coming Scott.
Have an Amazing Day, GOD Bless you and your work.
tim–
I agree with you about the GOD given survival instinct!
Thanks so much for this article. I have always understood birds would have difficulty surviving in the winter if I suddenly stopped feeding them. I would be heardbroken if I had to do that.
What a wonderful relief to know how industrious they actually are.
Good morning Scott,
I just wanted to say thank you for the article on birds becoming dependent or not becoming dependent on birdfeeders. I noticed that one of my dark eye Junco‘s had what I think is avian pox so I took down my feeders and will check back in a week. I’ve also taken down my feeders for as long as a month with house finches having conjunctivitis. So this was something that I had wondered for a while. I love your articles thanks again.
Jess
I was working on a bird feeder design and kept feeders going all summer and the population of Woodpeckers, chickadee and nuthatch increased so much that when the green ash borders came through all the ash trees near my feeders survived and all the ash trees further away died.
No matter how often you periodically sanitize your bird feeders they can still be absolute vectors for the spread of numerous avian diseases in wild bird populations. Why? There are no inherent qualities in any recommended bleach solution that magically zap the bacteria and other harmful pathogens feeders can become contaminated with in between cleanings. The most common way avian diseases like conjunctivitis and salmonellosis are spread is when birds are exposed to contaminated droppings on feeder surfaces in between cleanings. You may do your best to be a responsible backyard birder and keep your feeders regularly cleaned and sanitized, as well as your overall garden environment. But, the vast majority of feeders on the market harbor droppings on surfaces of the feeder that birds will perch directly on when visiting the feeder. This can be relatively large surfaces like roofs of the feeder, or smaller surfaces like flat-topped seed caps on seed tubes. If in between cleanings bacteria-laced droppings can accumulate on these surfaces that are also surfaces where birds can and will perch, this is exposure for them, and the disease risk is exponentially increased. Many of these diseases like avian salmonellosis easily spread from bird to bird, too. Backyard birding is a 5 billion dollar a year industry in the US alone. And, I get it, backyard birding is fun. But, it’s not without it’s constant, year-round health hazards for wild bird populations. Birds congregate at feeders across species, as they never do in the wild. You may think it’s cool that you have 5 different birds at your hopper-style feeder at the same time, but unfortunately this opens the door wide for them to transmit diseases to each other across species. The avian disease threats that backyard birding causes to wild birds has been proven over and over through extensive scientific study over the decades.
When is the last time that was mentioned to any of you when you’re shopping at any of the major wild bird retail stores? Chances are they never have. Year-round exposure for garden birds to dropping-covered, contaminated feeder surfaces is the scourge of the hobby. Please name another wild creature we nurse along like is done with wild birds?
I am so glad you posted this about the birds not suffering if I would have to stop feeding my birds which I have been doing for over twenty years.
lol.. Good to know, although last summer when our landlord had us take down the feeders, I woke up to about a dozen sitting up against the patio window who started asking for food as soon as they saw me come out of the bedroom!
As we are now going to have to move this spring, it’s good to know they will be alright once we have left and will move on to other food supplies.
I have worried about this! Mostly because I don’t want them to quit feeding here. I love watching them. I have about 15 jays, stellar and scrub, 2 woodpeckers and lots of smaller birds. I have to get the food out before dawn or the gazillion cow birds ravage the whole area. It’s hit and miss. I am in northern CA.
Good article. I often though if I took mine down what other bird feeders are there out there. I feel like getting a drone and see who is feeding the birds in my neighborhood.
Scott W
I live in New England and feed birds in the winter. Relatives in AK say once you start feeding, continue. I think that makes sense in the winter when snows blanket the ground for weeks like it does in AK.
But in other climes where the ground is kept exposed, it might be okay to stop feeding.
In the spring I see many birds vying for feeder space. It appears the breeding season brings out resource guarding so I take the feeders down.
Thank you for the article on if birds depend on our feeding them. I always make sure they have their bird seed and suet, but it is good to know it would not matter if I couldn’t feed them for some reason.
I keep reading that we should take down our feeders because of them spreading bird flu. (My squirrels would starve before the birds did,lol) What are your thoughts on this? I don’t want to hurt the birds!
This article is very welcome, as I have often wondered about this subject. Thanks for writing it.
What about other birds besides chickadees?