Nature Done Wright

Low-hanging bird-feeders offer deer a free buffet. Photo by Jim Wright

By Jim Wright

Special to The Record | USA TODAY NETWORK – NEW JERSEY

   Folks with backyard feeders likely winced when they heard that Ridgewood has adopted a restrictive wildlife feeding ordinance this spring. I know that I did – at first.

    The ordinance says: “No person shall purposely or knowingly feed unconfined wildlife, including but not limited to birds, deer, wildfowl, raccoons or any other animal … unless the feed is placed in a birdfeeder that at its lowest point is at least six feet off the ground.”

   The ordinance also says that each feeder must have “a food/seed catching device” and that no property can have more than three feeders attached, with fines can range from $50 to $1,000. 

   As I read the ordinance, I kept thinking how arbitrary it is. 

   Why only three bird feeders? I know a lot of birders who put up more than that routinely.  

   Why must the feeders be six feet off the ground, with no alternatives? Good luck with that unless you’re tall or have a ladder or a pulley system. 

   If you have a backyard surrounded by an eight-foot-tall fence, should these rules apply?

   But I am not writing this column to quibble over specifics. When I spoke with Village Manager Keith Kazmark, it was clear that the ordinance came in response to a growing problem faced by most North Jersey towns – a huge and extremely destructive white-tailed deer problem and potentially dangerous bears.

   “This is a quality-of-life issue,” Kazmark said. “People want their kids to be able to play in their yards without deer droppings, without deer eating their flowers and without deer ticks.” He also pointed out concerns over recent bear sightings in town.

   I don’t doubt that Ridgewood enacted the ordinance with the best of intentions: to raise public awareness about the enormous problems that thoughtlessly feeding wildlife can cause. I just hope that Ridgewood finetunes the ordinance to be more nuanced.

   I wrote this column for the same reason — to raise that awareness as well, so … 

   To help address the deer/bear problem in your town: 

     * Remove your feeders when you go away.

     * Remove your feeders for two weeks if bears are reported in your area.

     * Buy bird seed with Capsaicin, a chili pepper extract that thwarts deer (and squirrels) without harming them.

     * Never ground-feed wildlife or leave food out for your pet. 

     * Never feed bread to wildlife, no matter what your mother did when you were young. Bread is unhealthy for them. Bread makes them lose their fear of humans. And bread attracts rodents.

    In the long term, feeding wild birds responsibly must be encouraged.

    Don Torino, president of the Bergen County Audubon Society, concurs with Ridgewood that feeding birds needs to be done thoughtfully for the benefit of both people and birds. But he adds: “The wonderful thing about bird feeding is that it connects us all to nature, something we need desperately.” 

   What do you think? Email me at celeryfarm@gmail.com.

  The Bird Watcher column appears in The Record every other Thursday.