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| What is the birds-eye view of your yard your community? |
Birds Aren’t Just Declining.
They’re Declining Faster!
Scientists studying data collected for more than three decades found accelerating losses. The steepest losses in the study, from 1987 to 2021, were seen in Florida, Texas, Louisiana and Arizona. This research offers clues about the causes. Here are links to a gift article in the NY Times that looks at this research and to a WashingtonPost gift article, which both cite the same study.
This research showed a correlation with increased use of pesticides in agricultural regions, but it also linked back to an older study showing that cats cause huge harm to our birds. I wrote about that as well and how controversial this is in this article.
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| This Red-shouldered Hawk provided its opinion on how humans treat birds. |
BUT...
Whatever the causes for their decline, we are NOT helpless and, as Joan Baez stated, "Action is the antidote to despair."
There are many actions we can take to make our yards and our communities more bird friendly. I've covered this topic from several different angles over the years, so I've gathered some of the most relevant articles here to make it easier for people to up their game at this critical time. The birds need us to act now more than ever.
Rethink the lawn!
The easiest, most consequential action we can take to help birds is stop landscape-wide applications of insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, and synthetic fertilizers on lawns, which not only helps the terrestrial birds, but also the water birds, because lawn chemicals pollute nearby waterways. Also, allow the lawn to go dormant and mow it much less often and at the highest level. These untreated lawns will host other plants that tolerate mowing and are known as "Freedom Lawns."
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| In addition to being safe for humans and their pets, freedom lawns play a significant role in making landscapes more pollinator friendly and bird friendly. |
The other significant lawn action is to replace unused lawn acreage with pollinator gardens, meadows, or groves of native trees and shrubs. Doug Tallamy's Homegrown National Park. After you replace at least half of your lawn with native habitat, then you can submit your yard or your community to become part of this park. This innovative movement has helped move the needle to more bird-friendly yards as more and more people apply to "Get on the Map!" Their website is filled with great ideas and resources. FYI, our book, "Climate-Wise Landscaping: Practical Actions for a Sustainable Future" is listed in their recommended books list. It probably helped that Doug Tallamy wrote the foreword.
Plant more natives!
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| Hummingbirds need tubular flowers like this coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens). | Habitat gardening includes places where birds can build nests. This Cardinal nest was in a coral honeysuckle tangle. |
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| For a more beautiful yard, plant more beautyberry (Callicarpa americana). |
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| Snags and logs provide good habitat for birds. |
Top predators, like owls & hawks keep local ecosystems in balance. They require shelter and unpoisoned habitat. Birds of prey in our yard |
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| When wildlife is welcomed to your yard and to your community, the birds will do better. Read: Habitat Gardening |
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| Doug Tallamy's research shows that caterpillars are the best food for baby birds, so plant more natives, especially trees, that provide caterpillar food. | Spread the word! Here is a link to a free 10-minute PowerPoint presentation with a script that you can use to talk to HOAs, garden clubs, local government, and others. Note: It downloads as PDF, but that file includes a link to the actual presentation. |
So let's celebrate birds and work harder to welcome them to our yards and our communities.
Green Gardening Matters,
Ginny Stibolt
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