February is National Bird-Feeding Month in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
["Bosak, Chris. "A Change in Attitude Regarding Feeding Birds." ''The Hour'' orwalk, CT3 February 2010.][Rugg, Jeff. "It's National Bird-Feeding Month." ''The Herald-Mail'' agerstown, MD5 February 2010.] This celebratory month was created to educate the public on the wild
bird feeding
Bird feeding is the activity of feeding wild birds, often by means of bird feeders. With a recorded history dating to the 6th century, the feeding of wild birds has been encouraged and celebrated in the United States and United Kingdom, with it b ...
and watching hobby.
[Baicich, Paul J. "Revitalizing the NBFS". ''Bird Watcher's Digest'' Nov./Dec. 2009: 11. Print.][Baicich, Paul J., Margaret A. Barker and Carrol L. Henderson. ''Feeding Wild Birds: A Short History in America'' (USA: Wild Bird Centers of America, Inc., 2010) ][Horn, David J. "February: National Bird-Feeding Month Opportunities." ''Bird Education Network Bulletin.'' 4 February 2010. Web.][Richins, Vanessa. “Celebrate National Bird-Feeding Month with Pine Cone Bird Feeders.” ''Vanessa's Trees and Shrubs Blog'' About.com. 2 February 2010. Web.][Stiteler, Sharon. “Wild Bird Centers Takes Over National Bird-Feeding Society.” ''Birding Business News.'' Birding Business Magazine. 15 June 2009. Web.] Because of National Bird-Feeding Month, February has become the month most recognized with wild bird feeding promotions and activities.
[Petersen, Wayne R. and Paul J. Baicich. “February: National Bird Feeding Month and GBBC.” ''The Birding Community E-bulletin.'' 2 February 2010. Web.]
History
On February 23, 1994,
Congressman
A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...
John Porter (R-IL) proclaimed February as National Bird-Feeding Month when he read a resolution into the
Congressional Record
The ''Congressional Record'' is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress, published by the United States Government Publishing Office and issued when Congress is in session. The Congressional Record Inde ...
.
Below is the formal resolution that he read.
[U.S. House. Representative John Porter of Illinois speaking on National Wild Bird Feeding Month. 103rd Cong. ''Congressional Record'' (23 February 1994). Volume 140.]
In 2013, Westbrook Boys Varsity Basketball began their state playoff run with the theme "Feed The Birds."
Past themes
Each year, a new theme for National Bird-Feeding Month is selected, and promoted by the
National Bird-Feeding Society The National Bird-Feeding Society (NBFS) is an organization in the United States whose mission is to make the hobby of bird feeding better, both for people who feed wild birds and for the birds themselves. To fulfill its mission, the NBFS conducts ...
. The theme for 2012 was "If You Feed Them, They Will Come..."
The theme for 2011 was "Most Wanted - America's Top Ten Backyard Birds" and features ten species from the east and west that are among the most popular to attract. In 2010, the theme was “Hatching Out – An Introduction to the Wild Bird Feeding Hobby.”
References
{{Reflist
External links
National Bird-Feeding MonthNational Bird-Feeding Society
February observances
Month-long observances