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Birds soon learn and respond to opportunities such as feeding, and few more-so than the Graves Park carrion crows. In recent years, people have begun to feed the crows, and this seems to trigger two responses.

The first is that the carrion crows which are generally somewhat wary around people, are now increasingly approachable and, when food is in the offing, are almost tame. The second reaction is by local people as more folk stop to offer up food.

Maybe they never saw the horror film, The Birds, directed by Alfred Hitchcock based on the book by Daphne du Maurier. This is where a local community is terrorised by crows that turn violently aggressive and begin swooping down in large flocks to attack people.

Of course, to balance this image there is the song from the 1964 Disney musical Mary Poppins, with ‘feed the birds tuppence a bag’. When people started to feed the birds in winter during the cold periods of the Victorian era, the poorer folk were amazed at the profligate waste of food, with bread and seed scattered on the ground. Today however, feeding the birds is big business for both growers and retailers, and each bag of seed bought supports local economies. Sadly, the cost is rather more now than the old ‘tuppence’ a bag!

Feeding the crows at Graves Park by Ian Rotherham

Feeding the birds in the local park as well as in your own garden is a great way to connect with nature. Furthermore, with ever-increasing habitat loss with the ‘greying of the green’, provision of such food is essential for the survival of many bird species. For people, this simple act is excellent for our health and wellbeing and provides a good, easy way to engage children with nature too.

In local parks it is best to feed earlier in the daylight hours so that the food is largely consumed by the birds and not by nocturnal rodents – mostly rats! Don’t overfeed in an area and preferably use seed rather than bread. Regular feeding at favoured spots then attracts birds to be viewed up close.

Professor Ian D. Rotherham, researcher, writer & broadcaster on wildlife & environmental issues, is contactable on [email protected]; follow Ian’s blog (https://ianswalkonthewildside.wordpress.com/) and Twitter @IanThewildside

On the Wildside: Feeding the birds is big business for both growers and retailers