Does providing food at feeders during summer keep birds from migrating?
For little songbirds, no. We’ve wiped out incredible numbers of them, turned the prarie into soybeans, corn, and wheat, and we cut down dead and live trees they need to feed and live in. Feeding is a way of helping that. Putting up a bird feeder isn’t that bad, usually the worst thing that can happed is they spread conjuctivitus (pink eye) among themselves if you don’t keep things clean or stop feeding when you see a sick bird. For waterfowl, you can stop them from migrating. It’s one thing to feed them at a secluded pond every once in a while, but constant, regular feeding will prevent them from migrating properly. If you want to feed water birds, try planting corn or millet around a backyard pond, it will attract them but not make them dependent on you. Usually if you feed during the summer you should feed during the winter too, but you won’t be hurting them by offering seed, suet, and berries at any time. Winter birds, like juncos, are beautiful to see hopping around in the snow, in
