The joy of feeding birds
Who’s getting more out of this human-animal interaction – the birds or us?
Humans have been accidentally feeding wild birds for millennia; any leftover food scraps to be scooped up by opportunistic, feathered friends.
The deliberate feeding of birds, however - placing seeds out on a feeder in the garden, taking crumbs to a nearby park or lake – is a more recent, cultural phenomenon. In some countries, it has deep significance and one of the most popular ways humans interact with wild animals – and it’s big business. In other places, it’s practically unheard of.
So, why do humans feed wild birds?
In this programme, Ruth Alexander delves into the many aspects of this human-animal interaction and asks the question; who’s benefiting more, the birds or us? Ruth speaks to urban ecologist, Dr Darryl Jones, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and to keen bird feeders Dan DeBaun, in Minnesota, US; Fung Sing Wong in Singapore; Bylgja Valtýsdóttir in ReykjavÃk, Iceland; and Antony Tiernan, in Surrey, UK.
If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk
(Picture: Blue tit on garden feeder. Credit: Getty Images/Â鶹ԼÅÄ)
Producer: Elisabeth Mahy
Last on
Broadcasts
- Thu 2 Mar 2023 04:32GMTÂ鶹ԼÅÄ World Service except Americas and the Caribbean, Australasia, East Asia & South Asia
- Thu 2 Mar 2023 05:32GMTÂ鶹ԼÅÄ World Service Australasia, Americas and the Caribbean, South Asia & East Asia only
- Thu 2 Mar 2023 11:32GMTÂ鶹ԼÅÄ World Service
- Thu 2 Mar 2023 21:32GMTÂ鶹ԼÅÄ World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Thu 2 Mar 2023 23:32GMTÂ鶹ԼÅÄ World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
- Sun 5 Mar 2023 08:32GMTÂ鶹ԼÅÄ World Service except Europe and the Middle East
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