27 min listen
The joy of feeding birds
FromThe Food Chain
ratings:
Length:
32 minutes
Released:
Mar 2, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
Humans have been accidentally feeding wild birds for millennia; any leftover food scraps to be scooped up by opportunistic, feathered friends.
The deliberate feeding of birds, however - placing seeds out on a feeder in the garden, taking crumbs to a nearby park or lake – is a more recent, cultural phenomenon. In some countries, it has deep significance and one of the most popular ways humans interact with wild animals – and it’s big business. In other places, it’s practically unheard of.
So, why do humans feed wild birds?
In this programme, Ruth Alexander delves into the many aspects of this human-animal interaction and asks the question; who’s benefiting more, the birds or us? Ruth speaks to urban ecologist, Dr Darryl Jones, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and to keen bird feeders Dan DeBaun, in Minnesota, US; Fung Sing Wong in Singapore; Bylgja Valtýsdóttir in Reykjavík, Iceland; and Antony Tiernan, in Surrey, UK.
If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk
(Picture: Blue tit on garden feeder. Credit: Getty Images/BBC)
Producer: Elisabeth Mahy
The deliberate feeding of birds, however - placing seeds out on a feeder in the garden, taking crumbs to a nearby park or lake – is a more recent, cultural phenomenon. In some countries, it has deep significance and one of the most popular ways humans interact with wild animals – and it’s big business. In other places, it’s practically unheard of.
So, why do humans feed wild birds?
In this programme, Ruth Alexander delves into the many aspects of this human-animal interaction and asks the question; who’s benefiting more, the birds or us? Ruth speaks to urban ecologist, Dr Darryl Jones, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and to keen bird feeders Dan DeBaun, in Minnesota, US; Fung Sing Wong in Singapore; Bylgja Valtýsdóttir in Reykjavík, Iceland; and Antony Tiernan, in Surrey, UK.
If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk
(Picture: Blue tit on garden feeder. Credit: Getty Images/BBC)
Producer: Elisabeth Mahy
Released:
Mar 2, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
Eating Blockchain: Could blockchain disrupt the global food system? by The Food Chain