Feeding squirrels and birds

Dear Heloise: Glen Allen from Virginia wrote that he feeds squirrels and birds small pieces of regular or butter-topped bread. Glen said that the squirrels like it so much, they request more, and he feeds them more bread pieces. Unfortunately, this is not a good idea. Feeding bread to squirrels and birds can make them sick or worse.

According to the magazine Birds & Blooms (a reputable bird-and-garden source), dishes people consume like bread are generally bad for birds in the same way that junk food is bad for our systems. Processed foods have very little nutritional value. If birds consume bread on a regular basis, the lack of nutrients causes vitamin deficiencies that lead to serious, even fatal health issues.

“Malnutrition is certainly a risk if birds aren’t getting the food that they need,” says John Rowden, former senior director for bird-friendly communities at the National Audubon Society. “They can be undernourished, which makes them more susceptible to disease, so it could cause health or lethal consequences.”

With this knowledge, here’s a list of nine nibbles to avoid feeding your feathered friends: raw meat, salted nuts, bacon fat, potato chips, honey, red food coloring, old birdseed (could be moldy or rancid), and pet food.

Recommended foods are a variety of fruits, vegetables (they like chewing on corn cobs), seeds, and unsalted nuts. (Leaving the shells on is good for their teeth.) Feeding squirrels what they normally eat is always the best option.

Cody, in San Antonio, appears to be doing the right thing! — Holly C., in Redlands, California

GENEALOGY SECTIONS

Dear Heloise: Nearly all public libraries have a genealogy section that will gladly accept school yearbooks. — K.H.M., in Buffalo, New York

BACK-SCRATCHING TOOL

Dear Heloise: My first effective back scratcher was a brand-new round-head toilet bowl brush. The only problem with it was that the handle wasn’t long enough. Then, one day while at an appliance parts store, I waited in line. To my right was a display of brushes to clean the dryer. The one that caught my eye went from my fingertips to my elbow. The flexible wand allows me to use it straight, arched or bent. It feels good! — Anna L. Russell, in Tyler, Texas