Urban Nature Pictures day 10

[urbpan]

For the second time in a couple months, an unknown person has left a box of pastries on the sidewalk in front of where I live. House sparrows are enjoying the empty calories.

Comments

[roaming.livejournal.com]

I was under the impression, from having read somewhere ages ago, that empty calories from processed breads are actually bad for birds, since it fills them up and they "think" they've eaten but they get no caloric "warming" value out of it, so are more prone then to freezing. SO the advice is "don't give birds bread/pastry!" Have you heard of this?

[greenminions.livejournal.com]

If those types of foods aren't good for humans, I'm not sure they'd be good for a creature that is much, much smaller than us either???

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Yes I have. I think someone brought it up in my "don't feed the rats" brouhaha from a few days ago. This stuff might sustain the birds for a little while, but it ain't doing them any long term favors.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

If the pastries are still there tomorrow I'll get rid of them. I'd like to know who's doing it, and have a word with them. Talk about feeding the rats!

[aemiis-zoo.livejournal.com]

Tasty, empty calories. I'd be tempted to eat them myself. It's freezing out, that can't be that bad...

[elainetyger.livejournal.com]

See the icon for my response if someone did that to me.

The downside of my spaying the outdoor feral cats and taking over feeding them (besides the small extra time and expense) is that (unless I figure something out) I still won't be able to use my yard in the summer on account of fleas. The upside is that, unlike the elderly neighbor who used to do it, I put out small bowls in a confined area right next to my house instead of tossing it over the fire escape, so there aren't a gazillion pigeons eating the cat food.

[weofodthignen]

IMO the pastries are intended for the homeless; either first come, first served or via some kind of "second harvest" operation. Those drops of buns and pastries are particularly likely to attract rats, but that's the only way some well-meaning people will do it. At least it prevents human injury from dumpster-diving. If the stuff is still appearing, you might call the local food bank - it's just possible they are actually requiring food to be left on the street in an open box.

I like house sparrows. But the ones here are a sad inbred reflection of the ones at home in England, where they are solitary gleaners with visible intelligence and courage. When one feeds the pigeons or ducks in England, a single sparrow will suddenly dart in to grab what someone missed. Here they flock, and are scared of venturing outside the flock. They also seem smaller and less fat. I understand the US ones are all descendants of one or two pairs brought in as part of someone's project to give the colonies every bird mentioned in Shakespeare? Or is that a myth, and it's just what you mention in the entry, a policy of British colonists' importing them everywhere because they were thought beneficial as well as nice?

M

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[urbpan.livejournal.com]

I thought that maybe the pastries were intended for humans, but there aren't really any homeless people wandering my street, nor are there any nearby bakeries. it is a bit of a mystery.

The European starling is in the US because of the Shakespeare fans. The sparrows are here just because the Brits liked having them about, and because they thought they might control farm pests (they don't).