Feeding ducks or tossing bread to gulls might seem like a harmless weekend habit, but new research reveals that our decisions to feed (or not feed) waterbirds are shaped by powerful social forces we rarely notice. In this episode, we unpack a 2023 study examining bird-feeding behavior at an urban wetland in Melbourne, Australia, where researchers surveyed residents and visitors to understand the real motivations, beliefs and misconceptions driving this incredibly common human-wildlife interaction.
The findings are eye-opening: while feeders and non-feeders share similar demographics and connection to nature, they hold vastly different perceptions about what others think and do. Feeders believe most people approve of waterbird feeding, and that more than half the community feeds birds, while non-feeders assume the opposite. In reality, only 22.9% of people surveyed actually feed waterbirds. These misperceptions reveal how social norms - not facts - can fuel behaviors that affect wildlife health, community expectations and wetland ecosystems.
In this episode, we break down:
* Why people feed waterbirds, and why they think others do it too
* How social norms shape behavior more strongly than personal beliefs
* Why feeders overestimate how common bird feeding is
* The surprising differences in how acceptable feeders and non-feeders think bird feeding is
* How misaligned attitudes can lead to wildlife impacts and community conflict
* What this means for designing better education, signage and behavior-change campaigns
We also explore what the researchers found about motivations, like feeding birds with a window bird feeder to entertain children, believing food is healthy, or simply enjoying the interaction, and why these emotional drivers often override knowledge about potential ecological harm.
Whether you’re a birder, parent, park-goer or someone interested in human behavior, this episode reveals the hidden psychological and social dynamics behind one of the most widespread wildlife interactions in urban life.
