Encyclopaedia of Birdcare

Kitchen Scraps

Traditionally waste food has been thrown out for birds at least since the early 19th century, especially during winter. Although many items of kitchen scraps are valuable foods for birds, such as pieces of fat and bread, if some attention is not given to selection and presentation, there are likely to be problems, for example:

• waste consisting of uneaten food, looking unsightly and attracting unwelcome visitors like cats and rodents

• the possibility of inadvertently offering harmful foods

• attraction of flocks of Starlings or gulls, to the detriment of other birds, with much of the food carried off by larger species

Modern methods of feeding birds involve the presentation of specially formulated foods using purpose-built feeders and seed trays, thus avoiding the problems of kitchen scraps.

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