Oriole Feeders

There is some debate about when feeders should be used to supplement the diet of birds. In this post, we will be looking at that, as well as good use of feeders – when, where and how to use them. In particular, we will consider the best feeder to use to attract orioles. Why use feeders? There are differing opinions on whether birds should be fed all year round. The feeding of birds in the winter has an obvious justification – food is scarcer and birds struggle. There is a school of thought that says intermittent feeding during spring and fall is good and that you shouldn’t feed birds in the summer. There is some justification for that as many species that eat fruit and nectar in non-breeding periods will switch to catching insects in summer so putting out fruit etc might not be worthwhile. This change is because young chicks need a lot of protein in order to grow quickly and insects provide this. There is also (or should be) an abundance of food available in the summer. However, due to human interference and development, it may not be as simple as that. Habitat loss may well reduce accessibility to appropriate food. For instance, a housing development on the edge of a town is likely to be built on pastoral land. If that reduces availability of food then what would be wrong with the new occupants putting extra out for them? A double whammy of insect numbers reducing because of pesticides may make this even more important in summer months than ever before. The downside of feeding birds all year round is, of course, that birds become reliant on this food source and will struggle even more if it is withdrawn. How to support bird life Feeders are a

There is some debate about when feeders should be used to supplement the diet of birds.