Fourth Grade
Worksheets
Bird Feeders
If you live in the country, there are many wild animals that are around your house. Anytime you step out of your house you could see birds, squirrels, or even a bear. A lot of people feed the birds that fly around the house. Bird feeders cause problems, too. Other animals that you don't want around will eat the bird food that you put outside.
One of the most common ways to feed birds is with a bird feeder. Bird feeders are easy to put up and easy to take care of. When they are empty, you buy more bird food and refill the feeder.
Birds get the food from the feeder in two ways. They forage, or pick the food off the ground. Birds can also get the food from the feeder.
You need to be careful where you put a bird feeder. If you put one too close to your clothesline or your car, you could have a mess to clean up.
Bird feeders cause problems, too. Not only birds like to eat from them. Other animals see them as a great place to get an easy meal.
One animal that you wouldn't picture eating from a bird feeder is a bear. But bears love to eat at bird feeders. If bird food is available, they will often eat that before looking for any other food.
In certain parts of the United States, bird feeders are part of eighty percent of bear complaints around houses. After the bears find the feeder, they usually find other food near the house, too. Bears that learn there is a lot of food at houses will start to visit more and more houses to get more food.
What can you do to get rid of the bears? The easiest thing to do is to take the feeder down. Most people don't want to do this because they like to feed and see the birds.
