By Ashley A. Dayer, P. Christy Pototsky, Richard J. Hall, Dana M. Hawley, Tina B. Phillips David N. Bonter, Alia M. Dietsch, Emma Greig, and Wesley M. Hochachka.
Bird feeding is an increasingly popular residential activity that improves human connection to nature and likely people’s mental health. Unfortunately, disease outbreaks in birds that frequent bird feeders have become more common. Government agencies in the U.S. often respond to these outbreaks by recommending that the public stop feeding birds. However, there is not clear ecological evidence about the effectiveness of such guidance and how it affects bird populations or human well-being. It is also unclear whether the public will follow recommendations to cease feeding. People may be more likely to comply with suggestions to reduce disease risk by cleaning their feeders or feeding birds through native landscaping, which both help maintain human connection to birds.
Given that the public sometimes continues to feed birds despite anti-feeding guidance, we argue that alternatives for minimizing disease outbreaks are more likely to succeed. In order to better manage bird disease outbreaks and bird feeding in general, we call for research to address where, when, and how bird feeding influences wild bird populations, disease spread, and the mental well-being of the people involved in these activities. Participatory science projects, whereby members of the public engage in scientific research in collaboration with professional scientists, provide a rich venue for studying how bird feeding influences both backyard birds and the people who feed them.
Relational Thinking 