What if you had to travel from the freezing Arctic all the way to the sweltering heat of a tropical rainforest every year, pausing only for food and rest along the way? And what if, one year, you find that someone has ransacked most of your rest stops—making them dirty, polluted and broken? And all the food in grocery stores was disappearing? And dangerous figures were lurking around, waiting to pounce on you? Sound like a fun trip? Not really!

Welcome to the problems of being a migratory bird. You’ve probably seen flocks of geese flying in the sky, or noticed a group of little birds in a tree outside your window–but maybe what you didn’t know is that many of these birds travel thousands of miles each year for food and breeding. Unfortunately, they face complex and dangerous problems as their habitats become polluted, dangerous, or disappear altogether. The good news is that we can all do something to help our feathered friends:

1. Set up a bird monitoring program (see below)
2. Create or improve a bird habitat (see below)
3. Keep your cat inside–bells and de-clawing are largely ineffective
4. Reduce and avoid pesticide use in your yard
5. Drink bird-friendly, shade-grown coffee
6. Use "green" paper products to conserve forest habitat
7. Educate your community about migrating birds–see the exciting resources below for ideas. The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center site has games, coloring books, songbird kits, and more.

Sources and further resources:

• Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center
• International Migratory Bird Day at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• National Audubon Society
• Partners in Flight
• Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
• Creating a Bird-Friendly Yard with Native Plants
• Birds Without Borders
• Click here to download a Feathered Friends coloring page.

Keep Those Binoculars Handy! Be a Backyard Biologist!

There are many programs available that help scientists keep track of birds. They want to know: how many birds are there, are they healthy, and how protected are their nests? You can be your own backyard scientist by watching your yard carefully, identifying bird species and their nests, and recording how they behave. When you enter your findings into a database, scientists all over the world have a better understanding of the health of our bird habitats.

Here are links to several bird monitoring programs:

• Great Backyard Bird Count
• Neighborhood Nestwatch

A Welcome Garden: Creating or Improving a Bird Habitat with Native Plants

Birds and plants have mutually beneficial relationships—plants provide birds with nourishment in the form of nectar, fruit, and seeds while birds pollinate plants, disperse their seeds, and eat damaging insects. The best bird habitats, therefore, are made from a region’s native plants that have co-evolved with birds. For an easy Native Plant Finder, visit Clean Water Services.

Other bird-friendly habitat tips:

• Use different layers of different types of plants, like in the wild
• Choose plants that will provide food (nuts, berries, seeds) during each season
• Provide evergreens for winter shelter
• Leave some leaf litter for insects (and hence, for birds!)

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