Do not feed the white swans

A husband and wife, with their children, are throwing bread to swans, feeding them. Graceful birds quickly swam from the opposite side of the reservoir, where they were busy searching for food in the aquatic vegetation. An idyllic picture.

However, not everything is as good and cloudless as it might seem at first glance. Ornithologists have proven that feeding birds bread does more harm than good. Here are just a few arguments.

The digestive tract of birds has been formed over centuries of evolution. Birds are accustomed to consuming only the food they find in nature: algae, small mollusks, fish, insects, and plant seeds. Bread, however, causes great harm to their stomachs and intestines. This product, natural for humans, can cause diseases in wild birds.

By feeding birds, we are weaned them from independently searching for food in their natural environment, fostering consumer instincts.

Thus, birds that have become accustomed to people lose their self-preservation instinct, approaching ever closer. Swans lose their distrust and fear of humans – a natural defense mechanism, and a trusting bird can become easy prey.

With the onset of frosts, appeals from "benefactors" become more frequent. They say, "poor swans are freezing, they were in the river yesterday, and today they are gone, find them, save them!"

On the one hand, it is pleasant that indifferent people care about the state of nature. On the other hand, lack of awareness and ignorance of the laws of nature become a cause for unnecessary panic. The Mute Swan is one of the largest birds in Belarus and has great endurance. Not every predator is capable of overcoming it. If necessary, birds are capable of covering several hundred kilometers a day in search of food and favourable conditions. By the way, there are plenty of reservoirs in the republic that do not freeze over even in the most severe frosts, providing a reliable refuge for numerous flocks of waterfowl. Therefore, there is no need to worry or call rescue services if you suddenly notice that the flock of birds is not in its usual place in the morning.

The only thing to pay attention to is the condition of an injured or sick individual. However, there is no need to panic immediately; one must be sure that the bird is indeed injured or sick. On the other hand, natural selection, the harsh law of wildlife existence where the weak and infirm perish, giving way to the stronger and more resilient, has not been abolished.

If you still feel a strong desire to help birds, activists of the public association "Aseka ptushak Batskaushchyny" (Birds of the Homeland Protection), and specialists of the district inspection for the protection of natural resources and environment advise paying attention not only to swans, which for the most part can feed themselves independently. In addition to them, many smaller bird species winter in Belarus: mallards, bullfinches, jays, tits, and many others. They can be fed through feeders with unsalted lard and sunflower seeds. Such products do not differ much from the natural bird diet. At the same time, birds do not become completely accustomed to humans, do not fall into complete dependence, and with the onset of more favourable times, they easily return to their natural environment – forests, thickets, swamps, and parks.

Let us not interfere too much with the laws of nature.

Vasil MATYRKA