I don't directly feed the wild animals around here (after all, this is the woodlands). The birds and squirrels get 99% of the fruit from my fruit trees, the deer decimate any plant I don't have a fence around (unfortunately, the rabbits and raccoons don't care about fences), and the bears help themselves to whatever's in the garbage cans. The mountain lions and foxes prefer meat (chickens, deer, etc.), while the lizards and the neighbor's feral cats feast on the rat population, and the buzzards/ravens clean up any roadkill.
I highly doubt your squirrels and birds are starving. There's more food out there than one might think. However, some animals have gotten lazy and prefer to the easy handouts form humans over foraging for food (especially in cities).
