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So apparently the town I live in bans bird feeding... (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter jzmtl
- Start date
Brian2
Well-known member
strange when we're actively encouraged to feed the birds here.
In local parks or by restaurants near the sea you may see signs saying "please do not feed the birds" but not in and around your own garden.
I wonder what penalty applies if you're found to be feeding the birds in your own yard?
It does seem a strange policy
In local parks or by restaurants near the sea you may see signs saying "please do not feed the birds" but not in and around your own garden.
I wonder what penalty applies if you're found to be feeding the birds in your own yard?
It does seem a strange policy
The newsletter excerpt looks to be a paraphrase of the actual ordinance. Would be interested to see the actual language. It may be the paraphrase omitted some subtleties that made it clear ordinary birdfeeders and the like were not being prohibited.
Jim
Graham Osborne
Well-known member
Found this:
http://www.ville.brossard.qc.ca/Municipal-services/animals.aspx
"Feeding birds, squirrels, cats and all other animals in a way that disrupts the peaceful use of property in the neighborhood is also prohibited." Not quite so definite as the newsletter it would seem.
http://www.ville.brossard.qc.ca/Municipal-services/animals.aspx
"Feeding birds, squirrels, cats and all other animals in a way that disrupts the peaceful use of property in the neighborhood is also prohibited." Not quite so definite as the newsletter it would seem.
Ah, that puts a very different complexion on the matter!
You are good! I was looking for actual bylaws but didn't find any.
Guess whoever writes the municipal newsletter is an idiot, omitting the few words that completely changes its meaning.
stonechat1
New member
Seems that the scribbler wanted to use the city newspaper in his/her own interest.
I have sympathy with the letter. I was eating my lunch a few weeks back in a park local to where I was working. My colleague threw a morsel to one of the feral pigeons hanging around. Next thing we were surrounded literally being mobbed. One even hovered right in my friends face trying to get at the front of the melee. He will never make the mistake of feeding them again.
Feeding animals ultimately leads some of them to agressive behaviour. Hey its their lives at stake right, its not their fault, its ours. I feed in the garden, but giving birds/animals food from your plate is just asking for trouble.......... I presume this is what the letter is aimed at.
Feeding animals ultimately leads some of them to agressive behaviour. Hey its their lives at stake right, its not their fault, its ours. I feed in the garden, but giving birds/animals food from your plate is just asking for trouble.......... I presume this is what the letter is aimed at.
Chosun Juan
Given to Fly
I'm not even remotely a fan of feeding birds, but it seems a lot of folks on BF are quite into it etc.
I don't wan't to get into debating it, so the thinking behind this post is just to demonstrate my approach.
There's nothing more beautiful than wild things being wild ....
With a bit of intervention by (us) humans, it's possible (through work), to take degraded lands, and rehabilitate them, so that not only are they a reasonable facsimilie of the original indigenous state (this requires quite a bit of accelerated old-growth mimmickry), but also a more diverse than natural, compression of many different habitat types. For example, at a farm scale, taking derived natural grasslands, and restoring not only the original woodlands in places, but also combining wetlands, terrain rockeries, forests, dams, flowering / seeding plants, range extension, (preparation for climate change), shrub corridors, aspect diversity, and gardens, etc.
This can also be applied on rural / residential lot, or garden scale.
This is always my preference - provide food, habitat, shelter, and water, through natural means, paying careful attention to restoring / augmenting all the layers, and connectivity with remnant patches of indigenous habitat (old-growth if your lucky enough to have some nearby).
You could say that throwing different vegetation types and ecosystems together is somewhat artificial, and the results are certainly chaotic (in the scientific sense of the word), but I think that as long as things like potential weeds or pest species are not introduced, and do not cross the boundaries, that somehow nature sorts it out, even if not apparent to us. I have seen areas of typically less than a dozen narky 'increaser' species in degraded areas, transformed into areas that have seen over 150 species visit / reside.
I think anyone can make beneficial contributions in this way.
Chosun :gh:
I don't wan't to get into debating it, so the thinking behind this post is just to demonstrate my approach.
There's nothing more beautiful than wild things being wild ....
With a bit of intervention by (us) humans, it's possible (through work), to take degraded lands, and rehabilitate them, so that not only are they a reasonable facsimilie of the original indigenous state (this requires quite a bit of accelerated old-growth mimmickry), but also a more diverse than natural, compression of many different habitat types. For example, at a farm scale, taking derived natural grasslands, and restoring not only the original woodlands in places, but also combining wetlands, terrain rockeries, forests, dams, flowering / seeding plants, range extension, (preparation for climate change), shrub corridors, aspect diversity, and gardens, etc.
This can also be applied on rural / residential lot, or garden scale.
This is always my preference - provide food, habitat, shelter, and water, through natural means, paying careful attention to restoring / augmenting all the layers, and connectivity with remnant patches of indigenous habitat (old-growth if your lucky enough to have some nearby).
You could say that throwing different vegetation types and ecosystems together is somewhat artificial, and the results are certainly chaotic (in the scientific sense of the word), but I think that as long as things like potential weeds or pest species are not introduced, and do not cross the boundaries, that somehow nature sorts it out, even if not apparent to us. I have seen areas of typically less than a dozen narky 'increaser' species in degraded areas, transformed into areas that have seen over 150 species visit / reside.
I think anyone can make beneficial contributions in this way.
Chosun :gh:
mdudley
Well-known member
I know what you mean. My wife and I were picnicking at the park a couple of weeks ago, and a goose came up to me. I tossed it a piece of my Subway sandwich. Shortly after that we had a whole gaggle of geese begging to be fed only a couple of feet away. They didn't get real aggressive, but as my wife pointed out they announced to anyone there we had ignored the sign saying to not feed the wildlife.
Marshall
Robert Wallace
Well-known member
Chosan
In the UK the two major "Bird Organisations" the RSPB and the BTO encourage garden bird feeding.
In the UK urban gardens represent a sizeable area of habitat,
Horses for courses
In the UK the two major "Bird Organisations" the RSPB and the BTO encourage garden bird feeding.
In the UK urban gardens represent a sizeable area of habitat,
Horses for courses
brokenswan
Member
In Australia the feeding of wild birds isn't encouraged, not artificial feeding anyway...Australians are encouraged to plant native plants to attract birds...not that many do!!
I think it very much depends where you are & the habits of the local birds, if I were to have a bird feeder where I am it would benefit the introduced non native birds...Sparrows, Starlings etc.
I think it very much depends where you are & the habits of the local birds, if I were to have a bird feeder where I am it would benefit the introduced non native birds...Sparrows, Starlings etc.
Chosun Juan
Given to Fly
Robert,
I realise that much of the British Isles is modified habitat, and that "In the UK urban gardens represent a sizeable area of habitat", it's just that I prefer more "natural" methods of feeding, such as I mentioned.
As brokenswan has said, feeding stations over here tend to encourage 'pests' such as sparrows, starlings, indian mynas, pigeons etc. Apart from those undesireables, artificial feeding also disrupts the 'balance' in the favour of native 'increaser' species, which are usually territorial, and/or aggressive - noisy miners, magpies, butcherbirds, lorikeets, etc. This is undesireable to the local biodiversity, and in fact, you even have to be careful what 'type' of plants are added to a garden, as some of the larger, 'showy' grevilleas for example, will have the same effect. I'm sure there are similar, country specific situations and outcomes in other countries as well.
I agree somewhat with "Horses for courses", and I have no real position on practices in other countries, although I could see what I outlined applying in most countries (Siberian winters and such notwithstanding).
Birds in Backyards, a program from BirdLife Australia, has issued some recommendations /guidelines /info, on this and related matters, which forum members may find of interest .....
http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/feed-or-not-feed-0
http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/places
http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/Guidelines-Creating-Bird-Habitats
Myself, personally, I hate the notion of artificial feeding with a passion, but then again, I have transformed countless gardens /yards into veritable oases for all manner of previously non-existent bird life. In fact, many times it has me stumped, how native wildlife miraculously find these 'wells' in the 'desert' of suburbia, where they are located.
Chosun :gh:
I realise that much of the British Isles is modified habitat, and that "In the UK urban gardens represent a sizeable area of habitat", it's just that I prefer more "natural" methods of feeding, such as I mentioned.
As brokenswan has said, feeding stations over here tend to encourage 'pests' such as sparrows, starlings, indian mynas, pigeons etc. Apart from those undesireables, artificial feeding also disrupts the 'balance' in the favour of native 'increaser' species, which are usually territorial, and/or aggressive - noisy miners, magpies, butcherbirds, lorikeets, etc. This is undesireable to the local biodiversity, and in fact, you even have to be careful what 'type' of plants are added to a garden, as some of the larger, 'showy' grevilleas for example, will have the same effect. I'm sure there are similar, country specific situations and outcomes in other countries as well.
I agree somewhat with "Horses for courses", and I have no real position on practices in other countries, although I could see what I outlined applying in most countries (Siberian winters and such notwithstanding).
Birds in Backyards, a program from BirdLife Australia, has issued some recommendations /guidelines /info, on this and related matters, which forum members may find of interest .....
http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/feed-or-not-feed-0
http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/places
http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/Guidelines-Creating-Bird-Habitats
Myself, personally, I hate the notion of artificial feeding with a passion, but then again, I have transformed countless gardens /yards into veritable oases for all manner of previously non-existent bird life. In fact, many times it has me stumped, how native wildlife miraculously find these 'wells' in the 'desert' of suburbia, where they are located.
Chosun :gh:
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