To feed or not to feed?

This is something I think many of us have pondered:  what are the pros and cons of having bird feeders in our yards?
The following post was sent in by one of our board members, Rachel Scown.   I must say I was fascinated to learn that she's observed more activity and diversity since removing the feeders-- I would not have expected that!  She and all of us would love to hear what experiences others have had.  Please post your comments!

Just a note to say that after our Karelian Bear Dog talk (don't feed the birds - ! - because bears are attracted to the calorie-rich feed), we took down our seed feeders.  And now, to our surprise, we are experiencing many more species visiting our yard, and even nesting.  It's the first time we've seen yellow warblers, cedar waxwings, and mountain chickadees nesting here.  And, we still have the regulars (though of course not so many, nor evening grossbeaks at all) - song sparrow, yellow-rumped warbler, kinglet, w tanager, robin, nuthatch, bc chickadee, towhee, etc.  I'd be interested to know if any others of you have had the same experience?

Happy birding!

Rachel