“Don’t feed the bears.”

This is a common warning, printed on countless signs in National Parks and Forests throughout the United States. But has anyone ever warned you about feeding the birds?

In today’s edition, our lead article looks at ways that humans in Beaufort County can better coexist with our furry black bear neighbors. One of the takeaways of that article is that residents need to take down their bird feeders during the spring and summer months.

Beyond the potential for bear problems, keeping bird feeders up during warm weather months can also create problems for the birds themselves, according to wildlife biologist Chris Kent.

“I’m a huge bird lover, ever since I was a little kid,” Kent said. “I’ve done Christmas bird counts with my mom and we’ve always had feeders and such. But I would strongly encourage people to take their bird feeders down this time of year from spring until the end of summer.”

There are several good reasons behind this recommendation. Aside from providing an easy target for bears, raccoons and other non-avian creatures, the presence of bird feeders during the warmer months can create other issues.

While birdfeeders can help our feathered friends considerably during cold weather months, Kent says that with an abundance of food available during spring and summer, keeping feeders up year round can alter migratory patterns and feeding patterns of these animals.

It can also increase chances that predators such as hawks will zero in on your bird feeder as a potential source of food. Instead of seed, they prefer songbirds. With keen senses, hawks are quick to pick up on unnatural congregations of smaller birds at feeders.

Finally, the practice of leaving your feeders out during spring and summer can also increase the spread of communicable disease among birds. Like humans, when birds gather in large numbers, it is easy for one sick bird to infect a large segment of the population.

“These are small details that many people don’t think about,” Kent concluded. “They think they’re putting birdseed out and doing something good for the birds, and that’s great during the winter time when natural food sources are less abundant.”

So do the birds a favor. Take down your feeder this time of year. You might save two birds with one stone; keeping bothersome bears away, and helping our winged friends thrive in their natural enviornments.