feeding birds

I follow with great interest the valuable discussion on this list concerning the value and dangers of bird feeding. There are often comparisons with the situation in Europe and N. America, but there is one aspect there that I cannot see has got much attention, i.e. the great differences in climate. Here in Tromsø, N. Norway, at 70*N and with snow cover half the year, many People feed the birds in Winter and that feeding, provided hygienic aspects are taken care of, is defintely of benefit to the birds we have here in Winter. In fact, we would not have Great and Blue Tits so ar North at all without feeding and nest boxes (They do not hoard food for winter, as the other northern tits do.). In Australia the situation is quite different, as at no season are the birds depemndent upon feeding by humans.

The problem of a concentration of predatory birds is also, in my opinion, somewhat less acute here, although there is little doubt that the numbers of Eurasian Magpies and Hooded Crows is much larger here now than if there would not have been people here; but they get most of their food from human carelessness with garbage and Food rather than from direct feeding

Wim Vader, Tromsø, Norway

wim.vader@uit.nowim.vader@uit.no>