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People across North America and elsewhere who enjoy watching birds put out devices called bird feeders and continually supply them with seed. This practice is especially popular during the fall and winter, when natural food sources for the birds become scarce. However, these well-meaning bird lovers are not doing the birds any favors, feeding them throughout the fall and into the winter months can harm birds in several ways.

First, feeders encourage many birds to gather in one place and thus facilitate the spread of diseases. A particularly pointed example of this may well be house finches, a species commonly drawn to feeders. This species has experienced an epidemic of infectious eye disease and its population has declined by 60 percent in the last decade. Feeders may have accelerated the spread of the disease by encouraging house finches to gather in concentrated numbers.

Second, when people put feeders near their homes, they are exposing birds to several dangers. Predators such as hour cats and hawks find it easy to catch and eat birds that come to the feeders. Furthermore, when frightened birds attempt to escape from predators, they often fly directly into the windows of nearby houses and cars because they cannot see these dangerous obstacles. Millions of birds die from the combined effects of predators and window strike every year.

Third, bird feeders could encourage birds that typically migrate to warmer areas during the winter to remain in areas they would otherwise leave, thus disrupting the natural order. Birds delayed in their winter migration could be injured or killed by harsh weather they would otherwise have avoided, or they may miss their chance to pair up with mates because they arrived late to breeding grounds.

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