A study conducted in Sweden at Lund University has recently been published in the Journal of Animal Ecology and reveals that having easy access to food helps birds maintain good health and survive the winter months better.
What was the aim of the study?
According to the researchers at the university, small birds conserve energy at night by lowering their body temperature. However, if they are exposed to an infection or illness, their bodies will rise in temperature and this, in turn, wastes more of their energy. The study’s aim was to find out if access to food via a bird feeder would give them the energy they’d need to fight infections better and maintain a higher temperature during the night.
How was the study conducted?
The birds were exposed to a simulated infection in order to see how some would react to having access to no food and how some would react having access to a bird feeder, just like the ones you may watch visit from your Charles Taylor garden furniture in your own garden.
What was found?
It was found that birds without any extra food exhibited the strongest reaction to the infection, even though all of the birds reached the same temperature. This suggests that the birds with access to the feeders expended less energy to fight off the infection.
In conclusion
The impact bird feeders have on bird health is positive. You can help the birds in your garden by providing food for them on a regular basis. Just make sure you clean your bird feeder regularly too to reduce risk of disease spreading among the birds.
