Top Ten Things Landowners Can Do For Birds

By John Ann Shearer, US Fish and Wildlife Service

10. LEARN about birds.

Nothing will inspire you to take action to help birds more than to educate yourself about them. Learn what they need, where they go, and why they are so important. Become involved in a local bird club. Read books about birds. Listen to tapes and CDs. Put up a bird feeder. Buy bird books and binoculars and head outdoors! Warning: You may get hooked on birds!

9. PROVIDE COVER.

Birds need places to hide or rest. Small birds love brush piles; loosely arranged twigs and limbs that have openings throughout. Be sure your ground birds (like quail) have protection to and from the brush pile. If there is no vegetation around the brush pile, they may get eaten on the way to or from the cover it provides.

8. RECOGNIZE that food plots are like bird feeders.

Many people feel it is important to plant food plots. Food plots can be a great way to concentrate birds in one area for viewing, functioning somewhat like a bird feeder. However, they are not an essential part of bird management. Your efforts may be better spent planting long-lasting native vegetation to serve as cover or food sources.

7. MOW FIELDS ONLY outside of the nesting period.

Birds nest in grasslands and their nests are often destroyed by mowers. If you mow before April 1 or after August 1, then you will protect those nests and maintain good cover for the breeding season. It is also a good idea to keep some grassy or brushy areas around for the winter months for cover.

6. LIMIT CHEMICAL USE.

Pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers can directly impact birds. More often, they may unnecessarily kill the bird’s insect prey, which they also need to feed young. Insects and other small animals are especially important when birds are feeding their young. Improperly used chemicals also can run off and impact the quality of water, especially if no vegetative buffers exist. Read pesticide labels carefully and follow directions exactly.

5. PROVIDE A DIVERSITY of habitat types and at all levels.

A diversity of habitats means a diversity of birds. If you have a forest, manage the forest so that sunlight reaches the floor and shrubs and herbaceous vegetation can grow. If you have a grassland, consider maintaining like nature used to, with fire! If you are working with a backyard habitat, plant many species of native trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants. Birds use low, medium and high sites within your landscape.

4. BE MESSY!

Avoid over-mowing, over-pruning, and clean farming. Areas that we often think of as ‘rough looking’ are appealing to birds. They provide food and cover. Let field borders, ditch banks, and fence rows grow up naturally and watch your birds respond! These areas also provide sources of cover and food for small mammals, which are wonderful food for hawks and owls. Leave snags (dead trees) standing. They provide great perching sites, excellent food sources, and even nesting sites for many birds and other animals. You may even want to consider creating a few snags if you have a lot of trees.

3. PLANT NATIVE vegetation.

The best foods for birds usually come from native plants. They also provide the best cover and nesting sites. And natives are generally easier and cheaper to grow and maintain than exotic plants. Plants native to our region are what the birds have evolved with and know how to use best.

2. PROVIDE CLEAN WATER sources.

Though birds do glean some water from vegetation and their food, they usually need open water sources. Naturally occurring water sources like spring seeps, marshes, and shallow wetlands should be preserved. Small ponds and impoundments with a vegetated edge can serve as manmade water sources. Birds like herons find their food in the water. Songbirds are often attracted to bird baths and misters for easy viewing.

And the #1 thing that landowners can do for birds is...

1. KEEP CATS INDOORS!

Over 100 million birds in the United States are killed every year by cats, who have a natural instinct to kill birds and other small mammals no matter how well fed they are by you! Even the presence of a cat outside can cause birds to alter their habits and expend critical energy that may prevent successful breeding. And besides, while outside cats are exposed to many threats such as disease, cars, getting lost, stolen, poisoned or injured. Cats live longer indoors. And birds live longer when cats remain indoors.