I agree ? but most homeowners do not know these things, and seed feeders are very popular. Suet blocks can also be a problem if they have seeds in them that fall to the ground, as they often do. I don?t know of any problems with hummingbird feeders or thistle. Perhaps if there is a specific pest problem the HOA is trying to address, they could be educated on the differences and be more selective in their banning, especially if they prepared a pamphlet explaining the issues for the homeowners. Although judging from how hard it is to get people not to feed ducks and geese, or rein in their cats and dogs, my guess is it wouldn?t change people?s behavior much even if they have clear guidance and good reasons for it. Basically, I just can?t imagine an HOA taking this on if they didn?t really have a serious problem that needed addressing, and that side of the story needs to be considered. How close you live to your neighbors affects how likely it is that your feeding might create an expensive and unpleasant problem for someone else. - Teresa



From: rccarl at pacbell.net [mailto:rccarl at pacbell.net]
Sent: Friday, July 23, 2010 11:01 AM
To: Tweeters at u.washington.edu; teresa at avocetconsulting.com
Subject: RE: [Tweeters] HOA's




Selective feeding will avoid encouraging avian and mammalian pests. Thistle seed feeders will be untouched by starlings or rats, as will be hummingbird feeders. Suet blocks inside protective cages will exclude starlings. It's open seed feeders that cause the problem.

I just spent 2 months stuck at home recovering from hip surgery, and would have been crushed without my feeders to watch.

RCC

Richard Carlson
Full-time Birder, Biker and Rotarian
Part-time Economist
Tucson, AZ, Lake Tahoe, CA, & Kirkland, WA
rccarl at pacbell.net
Tucson 520-760-4935
Tahoe 530-581-0624
Kirkland 425-828-3819
Cell 650-280-2965

--- On Fri, 7/23/10, Teresa Michelsen <teresa at avocetconsulting.com> wrote:


From: Teresa Michelsen <teresa at avocetconsulting.com>
Subject: RE: [Tweeters] HOA's
To: Tweeters at u.washington.edu
Date: Friday, July 23, 2010, 12:13 PM

I understand the desire and fun of birdfeeding, but also the reason for banning it ? houses in urban areas are frequently overrun by mice and rats as a result of birdfeeders (and people that leave pet food outdoors, etc.). The decline in operating budgets for most cities over the last few years has led most of them to discontinue their rodent control programs, meaning that homeowners are left on their own to deal with this problem, and the HOA may have felt they had no choice. Among other problems, the seeds that fall to the ground are taken by mice and stored in insulation for the winter, which creates an unholy mess. I realize this won?t be a popular position among birdwatchers, but being one myself and also having had to rip out my insulation ($3000+) and deal with mice and seed caches in my house year after year as a result of my neighbor feeding birds, I understand the downside.



On another level, we all know the problems associated with feeding ducks and geese at the park. Neighborhood bird-feeding is not really all that different; it tends to benefit invasive species (including squirrels, rodents, starlings, etc.) and those comfortable in urban environments more than it does native species. The most ecologically sound approach to attracting birds to your yard is to plant an abundance of native plants that the birds would naturally eat and which do not create an attractive nuisance for rodents. I know how much enjoyable it is, and I?d like to do it myself, but I don?t for these reasons.



Teresa Michelsen

Olympia, WA



From: tweeters-bounces at mailman2.u.washington.edu [mailto:tweeters-bounces at mailman2.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of nightwings406 at aol.com
Sent: Friday, July 23, 2010 8:27 AM
To: Tweeters at u.washington.edu
Subject: [Tweeters] HOA's



The board of my homeowner's association just banned birdfeeding in our neighborhood. If anyone has some help for me to fight this I would appreciate them contacting me on my e-mail.

Thank you, Donna Ferrill

Mill Creek


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