It is discouraging to read about the significant losses of birds that we have experienced worldwide in the last 50 years. The 2019 report on the status of birds documented the loss of three billion breeding birds since 1970, about the time I graduated from high school. Soon after I read that report, I came across an article by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology with a discussion of things we as individuals can do in our own yards and in our everyday lives that have a positive effect on the lives of birds and other wildlife. The author recommends seven simple actions to help birds:

Make windows safer. Most of us have had a bird hit a window now and then, some more than others. Birds are seeing the reflection of trees and think they can fly on through, only to sustain injuries or be killed upon impact. Sometimes a bird just seems stunned and soon flies away but we do not know if the bird has left to die elsewhere. If it is a small enough window, decals will keep birds from hitting the window. For larger windows consider making and installing an Acopian BirdSaver, also known as a Zen curtain, which is constructed of parachute cord. See www.birdsavers.com for instructions or to purchase. They are easy to make and work beautifully.

Plant native plants and reduce the size of your lawn. Native plants are the basis of the ecological food web that sustains birds and other wildlife. A good place to begin is to plant a native tree this winter. If you have room, choose one that gets large and provides habitat in its eventual canopy. Live oak, white oak, Shumard oak, and longleaf pine are a few good choices, but there are many from which to choose. If your yard already has large overstory trees, consider planting smaller trees and native shrubs like redbud and arrowwood viburnum in their shade. Keep leaves and pine straw below the crown of the tree, rather than lawn, which will provide additional habitat. For smaller yards, consider planting a pollinator garden focusing on native wildflowers and grasses.

Enjoy shade grown coffee that is certified Bird Friendly. Coffee plants grown in full sun, as most coffee is, require environmentally harmful pesticides and fertilizers and offer no habitat for migrating birds. A forest canopy above the shade grown coffee, which is grown organically, will help migratory birds survive winter.

Use less plastic. Plastic takes 400 years to degrade and 91% of plastics are not recycled. Avoid single use plastic and recycle it if you use it. The article cited that, “to date at least 700 species of marine animals including shorebirds have been entangled by plastic or mistaken it for food leading to suffocation or starvation.”

Avoid pesticides, especially systemic ones like neonicotinoids that are lethal to birds and the insects they consume.

Keep cats indoors. Your cat will be healthier and safer and birds and other wildlife will benefit. Look into building a creative catio (cat patio). One will be featured on Apalachee Audubon Society’s annual Wildlife Friendly Yard Tour in February this year. See www.apalachee.org for more information.

Watch birds and share what you see. Teach others, especially children, about birds and nature. You may want to learn how to use eBird, an app which enables you to become a citizen scientist by reporting the birds that you observe adding to worldwide data.

To this I would add a few more suggestions. If you feed birds, keep your feeder clean and always provide fresh seed. Emphasis should be on creating habitat for birds while using a feeder as a focal point to bring birds up close for observation. Make sure the feeder is squirrel-proofed, so you don’t spend energy on being mad at squirrels. There are squirrel-proof bird feeders that work.

Provide a source of clean water in your yard. This can be as simple as a bird bath or as grand as a garden pond or stream. During the dry period last October, we set up a sprinkler near our bird bath that watered the native shrubs behind the bath. Within minutes and over the next half-hour two Ruby-crowned Kinglets, a Yellow-rumped Warbler, a Brown Thrasher, four Northern Cardinals, three Carolina Chickadees, two Carolina wrens, a Hermit Thrush, and a Downy Woodpecker all showed up enjoying the spray of water on the branches of the Virginia sweetspire shrubs. Several hopped into the bath and splashed. All seemed to be having a great time!

Birds bring joy into our lives. If you enjoy nature and birds, try to incorporate some of these simple actions to make life better for them and other wildlife. What we do in our own yard matters.