It is always good to spend a little time talking to members of the public when they ring up WILVOS hotline. We find out so much more that could be relevant to the advice that we give.
A lady rang me for some advice. She had been a widow for 7 years and had been feeding the wildlife at her house for the past 28 years. The concern was that a new neighbour had moved in and was threatening to report her to the relevant authorities for feeding birds. I calmed her fears on that front and then asked a few questions. “What type of birds were they?” The lady explained that it cost her $40 a week to feed the birds, for the morning and afternoon feeding.
Maybe some more questions may shed some light on the matter? One of the complaints was about the noise the birds made. The neighbour did work so I suggested just one small feed, as a treat, rather than so much food which could make them dependent on it. It serves no purpose to tell people to cease feeding, after such a long time, as that won’t happen and they won’t listen to any advice once the negative feelings surface.
Another suggestion I made was that this treat could be given to the birds after the lady went to work. It may take a while for the birds to realize that their morning and afternoon buffet wasn’t there, but at least the neighbour could be told that some steps were being taken to lessen the problem.
I was a little puzzled at the cost of $40 per week to feed these corellas, so I asked how many birds the lady was feeding. The reply – “ABOUT A HUNDRED!”.
I almost felt sorry for the neighbour – all that noise and faeces!
Claude – WILVOS Hotline