Are my bird feeders disturbing the bees?

[Aaron Koecher]

Hi, I'm new to gardening and have a few basic questions.

i love the sound of birds chirping in the morning, so I have a lot of bird feeders hanging from trees. I'm wondering if this negatively affects the pollinators in my area. And also will feeding these birds cause me problems later when the vegetables are ripening

Thanks so much

 

[marlingardener]

Aaron, how nice of you to worry about the bees and other pollinators! No, your birds won't have a negative effect on the pollinators. We keep two hives of bees and have four bird feeders (suet, sunflower seed, and seed mix) and three watering stations for the birds. The bees come to get water and will drink right beside a bird!
Birds imprint on where to nest, where to dine, and where to avoid. If you keep feeding the birds in the usual places, it is highly likely they will ignore your vegetables. As I said, we have lots of birds, and although the mockingbirds will peck at a tomato on rare occasions, we haven't had any destruction due to birds. Rabbits, well, that's another subject!

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I'm wondering if this negatively affects the pollinators in my area.

I have all sorts of birds around, whether they're eating at my bird feeders, drinking from my pond, or living in my many nesting boxes.

I also have all sorts of pollinators using my native gardens and pond area. No problems between them.

 

[Aaron Koecher]

Ok thanks for the answers! I've read robins and other birds have been known to eat bees but maybe that's rare circumstances.

So if I continue to feed the birds seeds they shouldn't bother my tomatoes/berries/melons/squash/ etc...?

 

[marlingardener]

So if I continue to feed the birds seeds they shouldn't bother my tomatoes/berries/melons/squash/ etc...? Aaron, one can only hope!
Birds come in three varieties--seed eaters, insect/meat eaters, and omnivores. If any bird attacks your vegetables, it will be an omnivore or seed eater, and most likely an omnivore. The good news is that omnivores are the smallest population of bird types, and the bad news is that they eat almost anything they can get their beaks around.
If you are worried about your veggies, you can put up the foil whirligigs from a dollar store (the movement and light reflection discourages the birds), or put netting over the veggies, or hang old shiny CDs on a line over the vegetables which acts the same as the whirligigs. Seed eaters most likely won't attack your vegetables, and if that is the type of bird you are attracting, you should be safe.
Oh, and birds will eat bees, but only if the bees are dead or dying. Nobody wants to put a stinging insect in their mouth, even birds!

 

[JBtheExplorer]

Ok thanks for the answers! I've read robins and other birds have been known to eat bees but maybe that's rare circumstances.

I'd suggest that any birds you're attracting to your feeders are also well fed and I imagine that would lessen the likelihood of them going after bees and other pollinators.

Regardless, there are some birds that do eat insects (Tree Swallows, for example, though they won't come to birdfeeders because they eat insects, not seed), but it's a natural part of life and won't have a negative impact on the pollinator population. The much bigger concern would be all the chemicals people and farmers use on their plants. That's one of the biggest issues we have, as well as loss of habitat and lack of nesting spots.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

Nobody wants to put a stinging insect in their mouth, even birds!

Tell that to the frogs in my pond! Wasps are their favorite meal!

 

[Aaron Koecher]

I live in a rather large city so I'm always amazed that the bees are coming at all, I don't know where they hide because it's a concrete jungle around here. But ever year my fruit trees draw in large numbers of bees. I'd love to try and house some myself but I have only half an acre and I'm concerned that would be too close for my animals and family.

 

[marlingardener]

Aaron, bees forage in a three mile radius from their home. The bees you see may very well be coming from the 'burbs, or from a park or nature area.
Don't worry about housing bees yourself--you will do more good for them by planting bee-friendly plants like your fruit trees.
Bees, especially honey bees, aren't particularly aggressive unless threatened (waving your arms about and shouting doesn't improve a honey bee's mood!). Teach your family to just go about their business in the garden and yard, as the bees are doing. Your animals (dogs and cats, I presume) won't get stung unless they provoke the bees, which is unlikely.

 

[Fernsdaddy]

I have a feeder out side my kitchen window so I can watch the birds in the morning, They don't go in my vegetable garden but do eat the seed heads off my flowers, The bees and other pollinators do just fine with the birds around.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I'd love to try and house some myself but I have only half an acre and I'm concerned that would be too close for my animals and family.

Most bees don't live in colonies and don't need to be housed the way Honey Bees do. You also won't have to be worried about them becoming aggressive and stinging (wasps tend to be the ones who are aggressive & sting).

I use old hollow plant stems and place them around my garden. I take a group of 20-30 stems and tie them together with twine or string. I don't have a photo, but I found one online, so the end result looks like this:

There are many kinds of solitary bees that will use these. Easy to make, & you won't have to worry about them. You can hang them or set them on the ground in a spot that doesn't get too wet. Definitely something everyone can do to help bees find nesting spots and shelter.

A few other ideas to help bees... I also drill holes in small logs and have found that Mason Bees really like them. You can also leave old plant stalks up rather than cutting them down. Many say that leaving stalks 2' or higher will encourage more bees to use that area because shelter is so easily found. Of course, planting nectar plants is also a great way to help them out.



There are so many cool bees out there in need of a home and a habitat! (As you can see, Gaillardia is popular with pollinators!)

 

[Pat]

Great flowers.

 

[granjera]

@JBtheExplorer , do wasps ever take over your habitat?

 

[JBtheExplorer]

@JBtheExplorer , do wasps ever take over your habitat?

I've never had any issues with wasps in regards to my hollow stem bee nests or my native gardens. They do love drinking from my pond though.