Written by Brenda F. – Extension

Master Gardener℠ Volunteer of Chatham County 

While we don’t know exactly why birds are declining, there are a few theories. Loss of habitat is a no-brainer. Birds need safe places to live. While birds are often associated with living in trees, they also live in bushes and some even nest on the ground. That means that birds not only need trees, but they also need bushes of varying heights and thicknesses and ground that is undisturbed by tractors, lawn mowers, dogs, cats, and even human feet. Birds also need food all year round. As houses are built with monoculture lawns and little else, and garden centers work to sell gardeners the latest greatest instead of also offering the tried and true, bird habitat and food sources are lost. But by making different choices we can help the birds. 

Different birds have different habitat requirements to keep them safe from predators and comfortable while raising a family. There are a few ways you can go about providing the habitats that birds need. 1) You can pull out a bird identification book or resource, such as The New Stokes Field Guide to Birds:  Eastern Region is my favorite, but other great options include The National Audubon Society Birds of North America, The Sibley Field Guide to BIrds of eastern North America, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and their excellent Merlin ID app., and local learning and expertise from the New Hope Audubon Society. Bird books will give you information about what a specific bird needs for their house. So if you are looking to provide habitat for a specific bird, this is a good start. 2) You can plant for wildlife in general. NC State Extension has some great resources on how to do this. 3) You can let what you have go a little wild. Leave piles of twigs on the edges of your yard. Let bushes grow a bit taller. Leave undisturbed areas here and there. Leave Your Leaves unraked in appropriate areas. 4) Create a variety of different habitats in your yard. Monoculture lawns and small border beds with flowers are not the most inviting to birds to build their homes. The more structural and species diversity to your landscape, the more beneficial wildlife you will attract!

Food sources are another big factor in bird survival. Birds eat nectar, seeds, fruits, and berries, so it is good to plant a variety of things that provide nectar, seeds, fruits, and berries throughout the year. Some good choices are dogwoods, coneflowers, sunflowers, blueberries, blackberries, trumpet vine, pokeweed, hollies, beautyberry, and goldenrod. Leaving the garden a little ‘untidy’ during winter, with dead seed heads and pods still attached to flower stems is a good way to use your plants as natural bird feeders. You can also buy different styles of bird feeders and use different types of seeds to attract different species of birds. But when birds have youngsters in the nest, they have a voracious appetite for protein and fat to feed their babies. And where do birds get protein? Insects! So while plant choices are very important for habitat and food, you also should consider planting to feed the insects that birds eat. There is evidence that, in certain conditions,  native plants and trees have a higher diversity and number of native insects. A study published by the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute found that yards in suburban areas that were planted with at least 70% native plants did a good job of providing food for adult birds who were supporting families. Native plants can also have the right bunch of parameters for the birds. The right height, the right thickness, thorns in the right place to keep out predators, berries, seeds, and nectar. For more on native plants, see the Native Plants chapter of the NC Extension Gardener Handbook and the NC Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox.

Blackberries provide soft mast fruits, nesting sites, and insects that are eaten by birds. Photo Credit: Cathy Dewitt CC BY 2.0

You may want to help the birds, but you may be a bit overwhelmed. If you can do a little bit, plant a native plant, put out a bird feeder, and minimize or eliminate your use of pesticides. If you can do a little more, plant more native plants, leave some wild areas, and plant shrubs. And if you can do big things, do all of the above and plant trees! Native trees like black cherries and oaks host thousands of caterpillars each year that birds like to eat. These caterpillars are a good source of bird baby food and, as a bonus, many of the caterpillars hosted on trees become butterflies and moths. 

If you are looking for native plants that work for your yard, try these resources:

Find Native Plants Attractive to Wildlife – NC State Extension

Native Plants – NC State Extension Gardener Handbook

Native Plant Database – National Wildlife Federation

Resources for Gardeners – NC Botanical Garden, UNC Chapel Hill

For more information about studies on birds:

North America Has Lost Nearly 3 Billion Birds Since 1970 – Smithsonian Magazine

New Smithsonian Study Links Declines in Suburban Backyard Birds to Presence of Nonnative Plants – Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute

Popular Pesticides Linked to Drops in Bird Populations – Smithsonian Magazine

For wildlife gardening help:

Managing Backyards and Other Urban Habitats for Birds – NC State Extension

Landscaping for Wildlife with Native Plants