Subject: Re: feeding migrating birds
Date: Sep 12 13:01:40 1995
From: Dennis Paulson - dpaulson at ups.edu


>When do we stop feeding the migrant birds? My understanding is that we
>not feed for a period of time so that they *will* migrate. And then
>resume feeding in the winter. Is that correct? Thanks, JS
>
>Jane Stewart

My guess is that there's hardly a bird that should have gone south that you
will detain by feeding. I think this happens only in a tiny proportion of
migrants. We have an abundance of seeds in our yard, yet the sparrows that
normally migrate through Seattle just keep on going when it's their time.
Perhaps when given a dependable quantity of food, they can actually deposit
fat more rapidly and get going more quickly!

Dennis Paulson, Director phone: (206) 756-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax: (206) 756-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail: dpaulson at ups.edu
Tacoma, WA 98416