It's an age-old question - to feed or not to feed the wild songbirds that come so willingly to our yards in the cold of winter.  Some people believe that feeding wild birds can cause more harm than good and create problems for birds, such as disrupting their natural cycles, preventing timely migrations, or causing birds to depend on handouts rather than foraging for themselves.  However, the truth is that these are all myths and feeding birds is actually beneficial to their survival.  

In the wild, birds would normally depend on habitats that include native plants which provide seeds, nuts and berries.  But every year there are fewer and fewer of these habitats left because of development and the encroachment of non-native, invasive plants.  So every year, there are fewer and fewer natural sources of food for our wild birds.  In addition, during cold weather, birds need to fuel up on an abundance of extra calories to stay warm.  They burn off an incredible amount of energy trying to keep their body temperature up when outdoor temperatures drop.  Birds will also expend a high proportion of energy searching for food.  So providing supplemental food for wild birds will actually help them keep their calorie-intake high which will improve their chances to survive the brutally cold weather.