Nature's Notebook

A lovely Carolina wren has been visiting our bird feeder the past few weeks — not to mention singing from the nearby shrubbery. A little larger than a chickadee, with a long, slightly down-curved bill and a short tail, this vivacious songbird is brown on top and has warm russet tones on its underparts. Its song is suprisingly powerful for such a diminutive bird, a ringing series of triplets: tea-ket-tle, tea-ket-tle, etc. Despite its name, this species has made a steady march northward over the past four decades, most likely as a result of mild winters.

Local gardener Hatsy Taylor writes an engaging and informative online column of natural and horticultural observations, entitled "Weeds and Wisdom" (weedsandwisdom.com). In it she recently raised the question of whether it is safe and appropriate to continue feeding birds through spring and summer. Based on the consensus of most ornithologists, the answer is "yes."

The most common notion about supplemental feeding in spring and summer is that birds will become "dependent" on human handouts and therefore lose their "natural" feeding ability. There is no evidence to suggest that this is the case, and common sense suggests that birds that have been successfully foraging in the wild for millions of years will not suddenly forget how.

In summer, most songbirds (with the exception of some finches) change their diet mainly to insects — essential nutrition for their young. Supplemental feeding, as its name suggests, can help provide some extra "fuel" for the difficult job of parenting, but it does not replace natural foods.

Similarly, for spring migrants, feeding can provide a helpful boost for birds that have made the long journey northward, but there is no evidence of an adverse effect, such as "overdependence." A possible exception is the feeding of hummingbirds in fall and winter, which may be partially responsible for lingering rarities. But few would argue that this is an undesirable result.

There are some reasonable cautions about spring and summer feeding. Greater heat and humidity increases the risks of seed spoilage and disease, so it is advisable to change the seed and clean the feeder more often. Bears attracted to feeders are an obvious hazard in summer and especially fall, and feeders should be pulled at the first sign of a bear’s presence.

On the other hand, spring and summer feeding offers the opportunity to attract colorful species in novel ways. In addition to placing a nectar feeder for hummingbirds, slices of oranges and other fruit can be used to attract orioles, an occasional tanager, and other birds.

Lori Fredenburg of East Canaan reports that, "one evening after dark, my boys were outside playing when they noticed something in the birdfeeder. My son, Zachary, was able to take a picture. We looked it up on the internet and found it was a southern flying squirrel... The next evening, we kept a watch and found it had brought along a friend!"

Fred Baumgarten is a naturalist and writer. He can be reached at fredb58@sbcglobal.net. His blog is at thatbirdblog.blogspot.com.