Feed The Birds? Caveat Emptor

"Millions of people tend bird feeders in their backyards each year, often out of a desire to help the animals. But a new survey of research on the topic finds that feeding may not always bring a positive outcome for the birds.

In many cases, bird feeding was shown to have immediate positive outcomes. A number of studies indicated, for example, that chicks which were given supplemental food were far more likely to fledge than those that were not given extra food.

But feeding is a complex business and can lead birds to make poor decisions later in life. Attractive feeders can become ecological traps, encouraging birds to settle in an area that cannot support them once supplemental feeding has stopped. In those cases, feeders create a population level that cannot be sustained by natural levels of food."

More here:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080403104353.htm