When did feeding birds begin? The practice may go all the way back to when man inhabited the earth - either to bring the birds close so they could be taken for food or when nature's bounty could sustain more than humankind.

From Egypt, Aztec, American Indian, Oriental, and Mexican to aboriginal and European - all cultures have tales and legends about humans in relation to birds. The Old Testament tells of leaving behind some of the harvest for birds to glean. Even earlier, cultures and religions recorded accounts of birds being released to determine if floods were receding. Ravens or doves were the harbingers of safety. We can surmise they would have been fed.

Many bird feeding legends connect with holidays. In Hungary, the last sheaf of grain at harvest is kept to be given to wild birds on New Year's morning. In Germany, corn is scattered on rooftops for birds on Christmas Eve. In Sweden, bread crumbs, seeds, or grain are placed atop a long pole in areas where birds congregate. It is possible that these customs may have been offerings to ancestral spirits, but over the years have evolved into holiday traditions.

In the United States, early colonists probably had little to share with the birds. In 1845, Henry David Thoreau scattered corn and bread crumbs outside his door at Walden Pond. Among his recorded guests were rabbits, red squirrels, blue jays, and chickadees.

These historical accounts knit us to our ancestors who fed the birds. In recent years, bird feeding has become institutionalized and commercialized as a popular outdoor activity. Birdseed and bird feeding products have become a big industry, with millions of people deriving untold satisfaction and fulfillment in feeding birds. I hope you have joined the millions of nature lovers and are feeding your birds in your backyard. And if you are, you can be assured you are part of the earth's living history.