Overfeeding Birds? (1 Viewer)

[Natalie]

Is it possible to overfeed wild birds? The ones near my house go through about three pounds of shelled sunflower seed every day, and some of the finches are looking a bit hefty. One male Purple Finch I saw last week looked flat-out obese. It has not been cold here lately, so it is not because they are fluffing up their feathers - some of the birds look like they are just overweight.

The "flock" (a mixture of House Finches, Purple Finches, Lesser Goldfinches, Pine Siskins, Oak Titmice, White-Breasted Nuthatches, Chestnut-Backed Chickadees, Dark-Eyed Juncos, Golden-Crowned Sparrows, and California Towhees) arrives before dawn every day and doesn't leave until after the sun goes down. I like having them around because they are colorful, lively, and sing a lot, but I am starting to worry I am feeding them too much.

Should I limit the amount of food I give them? I generally just fill the feeders up again in the evening after they have been emptied. Is it possible for these birds to become overweight from sitting at the feeders and eating all day? I really only see this problem with the finches, as they make up the majority of the birds I feed.

Thanks in advance for any information/advice.

 

[KnockerNorton]

Birds can't 'look' fat, because they're covered in feathers which are fluffed up or down depending on how cold it is. So what you're seeing is feathers and air. The bird underneath all that stores fat in specific parts of the body.

To answer your question, no it is generally not possible to overfeed them, as they only eat as much as they generally need.

 

[Robin T Cox]

Is it possible to overfeed wild birds?

Obesity among wild birds is relatively rare. However, if you find that they are becoming too fat to take off you know it's time to stop.

 

[Corax67]

No need to worry about overfeeding, I think you just happen to have a large flock which is polishing off your free feed.

I go through around 2kilos (4 pound) of sunflower hearts a week with just 2 feeders up - I have a mixed flock of finches, tits and siskins that fill out my copper beech whilst waiting for their turn and there is no site of "fat birds" yet.

On particularly cold days birds will "plump out" their feathers to trap air between the layers and increase their insulation, so retaining body heat.

 

[Pecky]

How about this scenario? I have a very tame female blackbird who flies at me as soon as I appear, waiting for the sultanas I've been feeding her on demand for over a year now. She doesn't take a huge number, maybe 6 or 7, but I put the fruit out for her three or four times a day. She looks bigger than the other blackbirds who she sees off so as to guard her supply.

Dried fruit is very sugary and I'm beginning to wonder if I'm doing the right thing. At the moment she's collecting them for her young and I wouldn't want to be single handedly responsible for a whole clutch of overweight blackbirds!