HOA's and Backyard Birdfeeding:
Saying "NO" to Birdfeeding Bans
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Page 4: Speaking Out and Taking Action ~~~ Previous Page

At this point, you’re armed with a range of criteria for choosing what you feed, for understanding the applications best suited to different styles of birdfeeders, and for deciding how best to position those feeders to deny access to squirrels, pigeons, and other unwanted large birds. Now use this information to protect your right to backyard birdfeeding. Keep aware of neighborhood events and politics, so that decisions which affect you, such as bans on backyard birdfeeding, can’t be made without your knowledge and input. Many neighborhood HOA's disseminate information through mailed newsletters. When these arrive, don’t just throw them away with the junk mail! Read through them to make sure that you’re staying aware of the ideas and concerns of your neighbors and your HOA. If you don’t receive mailed newsletters, is there a clubhouse or rec center in your neighborhood where notices might be posted? You might want to consider stopping by occasionally to keep abreast of upcoming questions to be decided. Not only are issues broached in newsletters or on public boards, but meetings at which such issues will be discussed and voted upon may be announced in the same forums. Generally, these meetings are open for attendance by all residents. However it's likely that only those people who attend will have the opportunity to vote on proposed policy changes-- such as a birdfeeding ban in your neighborhood. So if this is an issue important to you, make sure that you are aware if it becomes a matter of contention, that you know when and where it will be discussed and decided, that you attend the designated meeting(s), that you're armed with facts supporting your position, and that you're ready to speak out. Of course, the more of your neighbors who share both your love of backyard birdfeeding, and your knowledge of how to deter unwanted animals from your yards, the better your chances of standing together to overcome any proposed objections. But even if you’re not socially involved with your neighbors to coordinate support beforehand, if there’s a debate over backyard birdfeeding going on in your neighborhood, attend the HOA meeting, stand up, and present the facts you have at your disposal. You may find that others are present for the same purpose after all.  Or you may find yourself in a position to sway the undecided to your cause, or to change the opinions of some people who hadn't been presented with another viewpoint for consideration. You know that you and your neighbors can feed birds in your backyards while deterring the animals considered by some to be pests. Instead of letting a one-sided argument stand unopposed, take the leadership role and present your hobby in a favorable light. Along with the kinds of practical considerations discussed in this article, you may also want to mention the educational benefits of involving families and children with birdwatching and the closely related fields of environmental awareness and conservation. Show your neighbors that you’re sensitive to their concerns, and willing to work with them to prevent and solve the problems that are worrying them. If you can't change people's minds, you may be the very person motivated and equipped to effect a best-possible compromise. A strong presentations of the facts, followed by reasoned recommendations as to the feeding practices most likely to deter unwanted animals, and against those types of feeders most likely to invite them, might result in guidelines being enacted, rather than an absolute ban. That’s a far better potential outcome for you, and for the birds you’re feeding! Remember that the decisions of most HOA's are made based on the votes of the people in the neighborhood. If you're a strong neighborhood activist, you may even be able to re-open the debate about backyard birdfeeding in a neighborhood with a currently-existing ban. Talk to your neighbors and ask their opinions. You might find that there are other residents who would like to be able to put out their feeders. You might be able to coordinate a group of residents who weren't aware that they could take part in the decision-making process at the time that a ban was enacted, or who didn't have the facts to counter the objections to backyard birdfeeding, or who are more confident to act in concert with others than on their own. A ban on backyard birdfeeding isn't necessarily set in stone if you can offer an alternative solution to the perceived problem, show that the prevailing opinion in your neighborhood isn't the same as it once was, and get a vote called to prove it. Keep in mind that when dealing with wild animals, there are no absolutes. Animal behavior can be generally predicted, but each animal is an individual, and every backyard is a unique micro-habitat. A range of available strategies and solutions, and the combination and adaptation of methods, is necessary because what works in one situation may not be as effective in another. We humans are taking over more and more animal environments, and the animals that remain must seek out food sources for survival. While it may not be possible to keep away every undesirable animal from every yard, careful selection of feeder and feed types, good choices about feeder placement, and secure feed storage, can allow you to feed the songbirds you enjoy, while minimizing visits from other birds and animals. Whether these efforts are on your own behalf, or whether your aim is to take action against a drive by your HOA to ban backyard birdfeeding, arming yourself with these facts and strategies can help you live in better balance with both the humans and the wild creatures in your neighborhood.

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