To Feed or Not to Feed

To Feed or Not to Feed? That is the Question
There are two types of people in this world: those who feed their birds and those who do not. You, believe it or not, are one of these people. Now, if you are Type A, you already know that it doesn’t cost that much money to share a little cracked corn cuisine with your wild birds. If you’re Type B, my guess is you’re so tight that when you wink your kneecaps wiggle.
I’m here to tell you that buying birdseed will not break you. When you get to the cash register, have the cashier go through your stash very slowly and keep your eyes glued to the subtotal. If you begin to go over-budget, start slashing nonessentials—like toilet paper or cat food. While we’re on the subject, get rid of the cat; he’s just using you. If you’re at the garden center, there are any number of things you can do without. Scratch the flower bulbs; you’ll get your knees dirty burying them, and they don’t come up half the time anyway.
I think I have heard all the arguments against feeding birds. Feeding extends their range, it creates an unnatural dependency, the agricultural process of growing birdseed displaces natural habitat, and it entices birds to congregate in large numbers creating possible health-related problems. There is some truth to all these arguments but they are of little importance when compared to all the other harvesting and management practices we levy on the environment that directly impact our wild birds.
So if you’re still on the fence over this issue, remember: a farmer never plowed a field by turning it over in his mind. Abraham Lincoln did not become president because he was born in a log cabin, but because he got out of it and filled his feeders. Benjamin Franklin hung his birdfeeder out right after signing the Declaration of Independence and said to the other founding fathers, "We must all hang together, else we shall all hang separately."
Your birds can be very agreeable friends; they ask no questions and make no criticism.