Birders may enjoy nearly everything about their feathered friends, but people who are less familiar with birds' needs and behaviors don't always understand or appreciate avian antics. Fortunately, savvy birders have easy ways to address complaints about birds without hard feelings or harming birds.

Who Complains

Different people and organizations may have complaints about birds. Some complaints are from simple inexperience or lack of information, while others are a result of misinformation, urban legends or falsehoods.


Understanding who may have bird-related complaints is essential for birders to effectively address grievances.

• Non-Birders: Anyone completely unfamiliar with birds may have a misunderstood complaint about them. The lack of knowledge and inexperience with birds can lead to misunderstandings, but correct information can often easily assuage these complaints.
   
• Novice Birders: Beginning birders may have misconceptions about the birds they hope to see and can quickly become disillusioned with birding. Careful guidance and friendly help can ease these birders' misgivings and alleviate their complaints.
   
• Tourists: Visitors, whether they are birders or not, may have complaints about the birds they see because the birds do not act as would be expected in a more familiar area. Once they become accustomed to the new region, they may have fewer complaints.
   
• Homeowners' Associations: HOAs and similar neighborhood organizations often have complaints about birds and may levy restrictions on bird feeding, baths or birdscaping in misguided attempts to end the complaints. It may not always be possible to reverse those restrictions, but proper education and information can be helpful.
   

• Experienced Birders: Even experienced birders may have complaints about invasive birds, unwanted backyard species, nemesis birds and other specialized circumstances. Better appreciating all birds' beauty can help experienced birders remember how much they enjoy birding and mute their complaints.

Top 10 Complaints About Birds

There are many different complaints that can be made about birds, but those complaints can also be easily addressed and nullified.

1. Birds are too messy!
   Birds may spill seed out of feeders, feces can collect on decks and patios and urban waterfowl can foul fields and parks, but these issues can be addressed by properly positioning bird feeders away from high traffic areas, using no-waste birdseed and not feeding ducks bread that can lead to too many urban ducks and geese. Bird feeders should be regularly cleaned to minimize smells and mess, and cleaning up beneath feeders will keep any yard or garden tidier.
    
2. Birds are too noisy!
   Birds have different songs and calls for different reasons, such as the dawn chorus in spring when claiming territories and attracting mates, or sharper calls and tones when chasing away intruders. Learning to bird by ear is a great way to make use of the noise birds make, and will help everyone appreciate what birds are trying to say instead of just hearing noise.
    
3. Bird feeders attract mice and rats!
   An untidy, overfilled bird feeder may indeed attract pests, but there are easy ways to keep mice and rats away from bird feeders, such as changing the feeder style, eliminating ground feeding and using humane trapping methods. Carefully done, feeders have little risk of attracting unsavory pests to the backyard.
    
4. The pigeons are taking over my feeders!
   This complaint might just as easily be about starlings, grackles, doves, sparrows or other birds that usurp feeding stations and quickly empty feeders before smaller birds can grab a bite. Choosing different foods, changing feeder styles or using cages around feeding areas are just a few ways to discourage bully birds, but it is also important to remember that all birds need to eat, even if they aren't always the best birds in the neighborhood.
    
5. Woodpeckers are ruining my house!
   Woodpeckers can do significant damage to wood siding on a house, garage or shed, but before blaming the birds, investigate the wood first – many times, woodpeckers are feeding off an insect infestation that would do even more damage. If the birds are drumming rather than drilling, there are easy ways to discourage woodpecker drumming and protect siding without causing harm to the birds.
    
6. The birds are attacking my pets!
   While some raptors may hunt small dogs and cats, it is easy to protect pets from birds of prey without harm to either the pets or the birds. If songbirds seem to be annoying the pets, it is likely they are trying to gather fur for nesting material, or the pet might be too close to a nest – which the birds see as an attack from a predator, and they are only being defensive.
    
7. The beach shouldn't be closed for birds!
   While a trip to the beach can be a fun summer outing, humans have many more beaches to take advantage of than shorebirds and other beach birds have available. Many shorebirds have very specific nesting requirements, and conservation organizations may close appropriate beaches or restrict access to them during nesting season so these skittish birds can raise their chicks in peace. After the nesting season, the beach will be reopened. Even if a beach is not closed, it is always wise for visitors to practice beach bird safety tips in case of nearby nests.
    
8. Sparrows are impossible to identify!
   Many little brown jobs such as sparrows and finches can be difficult to identify, and the same can be said about gulls, shorebirds or the dreaded empidonax flycatchers. Learning where to find field marks and studying the appropriate identification tips can help birders sharpen their skills and become more familiar with these tricky birds, and the more practice they have, the easier the birds will be to identify.
    
9. Birds all look the same!
   This complaint most often comes from non-birders who have never closely looked at different birds, and who may not recognize the amazing diversity of avifauna that can be found in their local region. Browsing through a field guide or introducing them to birds in a friendly, companionable way may help them find a spark bird that opens up a new world of astonishing birds they can enjoy.
    
10. Birds are boring!
    Anyone who makes this claim is simply unfamiliar with the best of the birding world, including not only the diversity of the world's nearly 10,000 bird species, but also with amazing bird record breakers, quirky bird trivia and outstanding behavior, such as the uniqueness of how birds see color, the elegance of many bird courtship rituals or the wide range of bird intelligence.

There are many ways different people could complain about birds, but there are just as many ways birders can address those complaints in an informative, friendly manner. The more everyone understands birds, the more bird-friendly everyone can be.

Photo – Federally Endangered California Least Tern Chick © USFWS