Feeding Wild Birds in Washington State: Laws on Feeders, Bears, and Public Parks
September 13, 2026
Hanging a bird feeder in your backyard seems harmless, but Washington’s feeding wild birds laws intersect with rules written for bears, deer, elk, and even Canada geese. A feeder that draws in chickadees and finches can just as easily draw a black bear, and once that happens, you could be looking at a citation instead of a peaceful morning of birdwatching.
This guide walks through what state law actually says about feeding wild birds in Washington, where local ordinances and HOA rules add extra restrictions, and how bear-attractant statutes and new wildlife-feeding rules affect ordinary backyard setups. Whether you live in Seattle, Spokane, or a rural county with black bear activity, knowing these distinctions can save you from an unexpected fine.
Is It Legal to Feed Wild Birds in Washington
At the state level, the answer is straightforward. It is legal to feed birds in Washington state, and there are no statewide laws prohibiting or restricting the feeding of wild birds. Songbird feeders, suet cages, and hummingbird feeders are all fair game under state statute, and Washington’s Revised Code doesn’t single out backyard bird feeding the way some states do.
That said, the law gets more complicated the moment your feeder attracts something other than birds. In May 2025, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) adopted new rules to slow the spread of chronic wasting disease, and the department implemented the new rules on May 17 to protect wildlife from diseases such as chronic wasting disease, which was first detected in the state in 2024. Under that rule, if feeding other wildlife, including the use of bird feeders, draws deer, elk, or moose, it is considered illegal.
You might wonder whether this means bird feeding itself became illegal. It didn’t. The rule targets indirect feeding of deer, elk, and moose, not feeding birds. But it does mean your feeder setup now carries legal exposure it didn’t have before, since it is also illegal to feed any other Washington wildlife if doing so causes deer, elk, or moose to congregate in the area, even if you aren’t intending to feed them.
Pro Tip: If deer regularly show up under your feeder to clean up spilled seed, that’s enough to put you at risk under the new rule, regardless of your intent.
Bird Feeder Placement and Height Rules in Washington
Washington doesn’t have a statewide statute dictating exact feeder heights, but wildlife agencies and conservation groups recommend specific placement to avoid drawing in unwanted visitors. According to Western Wildlife Outreach, you can suspend a feeder between two poles high enough off the ground that bears and raccoons cannot reach it, generally seven feet or more. Pulley systems make it easier to fill a feeder mounted that high without hauling out a ladder every time.
Placement matters as much as height. Feeders set too close to fences, sheds, or low tree branches give raccoons and other climbers an easy route in, even if the pole itself is tall enough. Ground-level spillage is just as much of an issue, so cleaning up dropped seed regularly reduces the scent trail that draws in nighttime visitors.
Feeder placement also affects which species show up. Common backyard visitors like house finches and dark-eyed juncos favor tray or hopper feeders near cover, while nectar feeders draw in species such as the Anna’s hummingbird (Calypte anna), a year-round resident across much of western Washington. If you want help identifying who’s actually visiting your yard, the guide to brown birds in Washington state covers many of the sparrows and finches that show up at typical feeders.
Outdoor cats are another placement consideration worth factoring in. Feeders positioned near dense shrubs give cats easy cover to ambush ground-feeding birds, so it’s worth reviewing Washington’s outdoor cat laws if a neighbor’s cat is a recurring visitor to your feeding station, or checking what recourse you have under the state’s rules on a neighbor’s cat entering your yard.
- Mount seed and suet feeders at least seven feet off the ground in bear-active areas
- Keep feeders away from fences, decks, and low branches that offer climbing access
- Rake up spilled seed weekly to reduce ground-feeding attractants
- Position nectar feeders where they’re visible but not directly beneath eaves bears can reach
Feeding Waterfowl: Ducks, Geese, and Special Restrictions in Washington
Ducks and geese occupy a different legal category than songbirds. Migratory waterfowl under state law includes brants, ducks, geese, and swans, and these species fall under the same migratory bird framework that governs hunting seasons for Canada geese (Branta canadensis) and other waterfowl statewide. Feeding a wild duck in your local park isn’t a hunting violation, but it can still run afoul of local rules.
Many Washington cities and counties address waterfowl feeding through nuisance ordinances rather than state statute. Overfed ducks and geese concentrate in unnaturally high numbers, foul walking paths and shorelines, and become dependent on handouts that lack proper nutrition. That’s part of why several municipalities have adopted feeding bans specifically aimed at waterfowl in public spaces.
Not every jurisdiction restricts this activity, though. In Spokane County, for example, there’s no ordinance banning residents from feeding wildlife such as deer or waterfowl, and Washington state rules govern instead, since feeding large wild animals like deer, elk, or bears can be restricted by the Department of Fish and Wildlife under WAC Title 220. That patchwork approach means the legality of tossing bread to ducks at your local pond depends heavily on which city or county you’re standing in.
Important Note: Rules on feeding ducks and geese vary block by block in Washington. Always check municipal code before feeding waterfowl in a public park, since some cities treat it as a civil infraction.
Bear-Attractant Laws That Affect Bird Feeders in Washington
This is where feeding wild birds laws in Washington carry the most legal risk. State law makes it a criminal matter to attract large carnivores, and feeding or negligently attracting black bears or other large wild carnivores is illegal in Washington under RCW 77.15.790 and other state laws. The statute doesn’t require intent. Even an unintentional feeding violation can result in a citation.
Washington law draws a clear line between two categories of conduct. Under the revised code, “intentionally feed, attempt to feed, or attract” means to purposefully or knowingly provide, leave, or place in, on, or about any land or building any food, food waste, or other substance that attracts or could attract large wild carnivores to that land or building, and a large wild carnivore includes wild bear, cougar, and wolf. A bird feeder that spills seed on the ground and draws in a black bear (Ursus americanus) qualifies just as easily as a garbage can left open on purpose.
WDFW’s own guidance is blunt about seasonal risk. The agency advises residents to take down seed, suet, and hummingbird feeders until fall during the spring and summer months when bears are most active and searching for calorie-dense food. Feeding wild birds only during the colder months, when bears are typically denning, is one of the simplest ways to avoid a conflict altogether.
Feeders aren’t the only culprit, either. Improperly stored carcasses, unsecured trash, and pet food left outdoors carry the same legal exposure under the bear-attractant statute, which is one more reason the rules around handling roadkill in Washington intersect with the same underlying concern: keeping food sources away from large carnivores.
- Remove seed, suet, and hummingbird feeders from spring through early fall in bear country
- Store bird seed in sealed containers indoors, not in an open garage or shed
- Clean grills and secure garbage cans until collection day
- Report repeated bear visits to WDFW rather than continuing to feed through the problem
HOA and Municipal Bird Feeding Restrictions in Washington
State law sets a floor, not a ceiling, and Washington cities regularly layer their own restrictions on top of it. Municipal codes across the state address bird and wildlife feeding directly, often with far more specificity than state statute. Bellevue Municipal Code Section 3.43.090 prohibits leaving food in parks for wildlife, while Coupeville’s Ordinance No. 764, adopted in 2021, prohibits the feeding of wildlife and feral animals within town limits.
Ocean Shores takes a narrower approach focused on problem species. Ocean Shores Municipal Code Section 8.32.020(Z)-(BB) declares feeding of seagulls and crows to be a nuisance if it results in offensive deposits, aggressive bird behavior, or danger to humans or animals, and also declares feeding of specified wild animals including deer, elk, coyotes, cougars, and bats to be a nuisance. These examples show how much variation exists between neighboring jurisdictions.
| City / County | Restriction | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Bellevue | No leaving food in parks for wildlife | Public parks only |
| Coupeville | Feeding wildlife and feral animals prohibited | Townwide |
| Ocean Shores | Seagull/crow feeding declared nuisance if disruptive | Citywide, conditional |
| Spokane County | No county-level feeding ordinance | State rules apply instead |
HOAs add a separate layer entirely, since covenants can restrict feeder types, placement, or visibility even where city ordinances stay silent. This mirrors how many communities regulate other backyard hobbies; the same kind of covenant scrutiny shows up in Washington’s beekeeping laws, where a legal activity at the state level still runs into private association rules. Before installing a large feeding station, check your HOA’s architectural guidelines the same way you would for a fence or shed.
Feeding Birds on Public Land or Parks in Washington
Public parks tend to carry the strictest feeding rules of any category, largely because concentrated bird activity in high-traffic areas creates cleanup and safety problems fast. As noted above, Bellevue’s municipal code specifically prohibits leaving food in parks for wildlife, and similar language appears in park rules across the state even where it isn’t codified at the city level.
WDFW’s broader position leans the same direction. Rather than encouraging feeding on public or private land, the agency points residents toward habitat-based alternatives, and the Habitat at Home program provides tips for supporting wildlife where you live, work, and play without relying on supplemental feeding. That guidance applies just as much to a state wildlife area as it does to a city park.
Leash laws come into play here too. If you’re walking a dog through a park where waterfowl or other wildlife regularly gather, Washington’s leash law requirements still apply, and an off-leash dog chasing fed, habituated birds can create the exact public-safety problem these ordinances are designed to prevent. Habituated wildlife in parks also tends to become a nuisance-wildlife problem down the line, which is covered in more detail in the guide to nuisance wildlife laws in Washington.
Pro Tip: If you want to watch waterfowl up close without violating a park ordinance, bring binoculars instead of bread. Most park feeding complaints stem from crowds of birds created by repeat feeding, not from the birds themselves.
Penalties for Violating Wildlife Feeding Laws in Washington
Penalties for feeding-related violations in Washington scale with intent and repetition. On the bear-attractant side, Issaquah’s public guidance notes that unintentionally or “negligently” feeding bears can bring a fine of $87, while the fine for intentional feeding can be as much as $1,000. Other agencies cite slightly higher ceilings for repeat offenses; according to KIRO 7 News, it is illegal under Washington state law to intentionally feed or attract large carnivores including black bears, and violators can face an infraction of up to $1,025 for repeat offenses.
The deer, elk, and moose feeding rule carries its own penalty structure. Enforcement typically starts with education rather than an immediate citation, since Fish and Wildlife police officers in Washington have some discretion when dealing with offenders and typically focus first on education. But that discretion has limits, and the indirect feeding provision, where a bird feeder or compost pile draws deer, falls under the same infraction framework, and ignorance of the rule is not a formal legal defense.
| Violation | Typical Penalty | Governing Law |
|---|---|---|
| Negligently feeding bears/cougars/wolves | Around $87 for a first infraction | RCW 77.15.790 |
| Intentionally feeding large carnivores | Up to $1,000-$1,025, higher for repeat offenses | RCW 77.15.790 |
| Feeding deer, elk, or moose (direct or indirect) | Infraction, often starting with a warning | WDFW rule, effective May 2025 |
| Local park or municipal feeding violations | Varies by city ordinance | Municipal code |
Municipal violations vary just as much as the underlying ordinances do, with some cities treating a first offense as a warning and others issuing a direct civil infraction. Repeat violations documented by wildlife officers tend to draw closer scrutiny regardless of jurisdiction, since WDFW officers have the authority to document ongoing violations, and patterns of non-compliance are taken more seriously than isolated incidents.
The bottom line for anyone hanging a feeder in Washington: feeding songbirds is legal statewide, but the moment a feeder starts drawing in deer, bears, or waterfowl in a restricted area, the legal picture changes fast. Checking your city’s municipal code, following WDFW’s seasonal feeder guidance, and keeping feeders positioned out of reach of larger wildlife covers most of the legal risk. If wildlife has already become a persistent problem around your property despite these precautions, the wildlife removal laws in Washington outline what options are available for addressing it lawfully.