Expert: Roger Lederer - 6/21/2007

Question
Hi!

I would like to tame the wild birds in my backyard just for fun. I think it would be nice to have a chickadee sit on my shoulder, for example. How should I go about doing this? Is it okay to feed the birds in the summer? Will it make them dependable?


Thanks,

Kate

Answer
I understand your interest in doing this - taming the birds, but I cannot condone it. When wild birds become used to humans, they almost invariably become dependent upon them, end up eating the wrong food and become sickly, neglect breeding duties, get diseases, and very often get killed by a cat or dog or shot by a neighbor kid with a BB gun. Taming a wild bird is doing a disservice to it. It is also illegal (federal law). But you can feed the birds in the summer in a regular bird feeder, although there is plenty of other food around and you won't get many visitors. Roger Lederer at Ornithology.com