Beetle

I agree it might be a good idea for Hong Kong but this need to be done regularly, and not targeting a sole individual.
At the same time most people still thinks wild birds are associated with avian flu, if birds become so tame and so close to humans, this might cause much disputes in the society. (This is different in Western Countries, like Australia i have been to, people are not so afraid of avian flu and used to feed birds like ducks and swans)

To feed birds is not really a bad thing, like rice in Long Valley and fish for egrets and cormorants, but these are regular practices in a much larger scale than luring a bird by worms solely for photographs.

I am wondering whether the feeders in overseas have been well-studied so that they are providing the right nutritional values to birds. This is the concern for me.

Beetle

I strongly agree that feeding activities that are well-managed would help birds.

Avain flu is not really a concern in fact, but there are still many ordinary Hong Kong People worrying about avian flu from wild birds, but I am hoping their worry would eventually disappear.

I noted that in the code of conduct written by BWS there are relative contents about baiting. I do follows the code and have been using it as a good guideline for birdwatching and photographing activities. On the other hand i think feeding birds can sometimes be good - and i do struggle when i am thinking of the issue. There may not be a clear-cut difference between "baiting/luring birds" and "feeding birds".

Apart from this, feeding wild animals in some areas like Tai Po Kau is prohibited by law, while it is also not allowed in most urban parks
http://www.afcd.gov.hk/tc_chi/co ... sgroup_mammals.html
http://www.afcd.gov.hk/english/c ... sgroup_mammals.html
I am not going to comment about the suitability of such laws, but we need to pay attention to the regulations when we feed.

[ Last edited by Beetle at 2/01/2011 22:20 ]