On Feb. 10 in the LBCC courtyard near the Hot Shot Cafe, bread was thrown into the quad to feed the birds. A concerned student revealed the real danger that bread brings to birds.
“Feeding birds bread can cause a deformity called angel wings,” said Rosa Calabrese.
Angel wing, also known as slipped wing, crooked wing or drooped wing, is a condition of ducks, geese, and other wild birds causing the last joint of the wing to twist. As a result, the wing feathers point out and do not lay smooth against the body.
Birds with angel wing are stripped of their ability to fly, losing their main line of defense. Those affected are often unable to escape predators, and can be maimed or killed. Additionally, when life-threatening weather conditions develop, they are unable to migrate and can starve or freeze to death.
Many people have grown up with the idea that feeding birds and ducks at the local park is a fun interaction between human and animal. However, this isn’t the truth. It’s a serious issue, and it should stop.
“There needs to be a distinction between the animal world and human world,” said student Vishwajeet Singh.
It is important that interactions between humans and animals be neutral, and be harmless to both parties interacting.
In the courtyard students and staff share benches on a sunny day to take in some rays. With nature all around, it’s only natural that a bird or two fly by. Without better knowledge about the harmful effects to birds, as a society, we are killing birds without realizing it.
“Bread is deadly to birds,” said Lina DeMorais, student and Chintimini Wildlife Center volunteer.
A better solution to limit the birds in the courtyard would be to feed them in the outer trees around campus, which helps keep the birds in the best natural environment possible. If students and staff welcome birds into the courtyard and allow feeding to happen, birds will become comfortable and start building nests where they shouldn’t and teach their young to eat human-food.
Not only would nests impose on natural and human habitat, but more birds can cause damage to cars, property and potentially to students and staff.
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