Birds face many challenges during migration. Bad weather, predators, and food shortages all contribute to natural challenges along the way. But we humans are good at adding more …
Will you save me a little space?
The soda-can-sized Black-Bellied Plover (Pluvialus squatarola) travels 3,700 miles in only a few weeks from wintering grounds in South America to summer breeding grounds in Canada. In late summer they retrace the 3,700 miles back south, stopping in Maine’s marshes and mudflats to rest and refuel.
What will we offer when they stop over?
The landscape on which they depend?
Or human “development” with no hope of refuge?
Can we share?
Destruction of natural habitat reduces where birds can find enough of what they need. Building, farming, resource extraction, and infrastructure (including solar and wind power) all contribute to habitat loss.
Equally harmful is habitat degradation, which is unhealthy for birds and us. Pesticides, insecticides, and rodenticides we use kill caterpillars and other little critters birds need to survive, as well as the birds themselves. Fertilizers, plastics, and waste pollute our shared water. Invasive plants push out native plants on which birds and wildlife depend.
What is your lawn like?
A pesticide-free natural habitat with resources and room for all?
Or a well-manicured, but resource-empty, inhospitable space for visiting birds and wildlife?
Can we share?
YOU Can Help us!
Conserve.
Preserve.
Restore.
Cut trees selectively, outside of nesting season, and away from areas with fledgling birds. Save dead trees for cavity nesters.
Share your lawn – or at least part of it – as a wild space for plants, birds, bees, mice, owls, foxes, and deer (it’s less work!)
Avoid pesticides, insecticides, and fertilizers.
Mow fields in the fall, after birds have migrated.
Plant native (interdependent) plants.
Be an advocate for habitat conservation! Support conservation organizations and share your values with your legislators.
Please help keep us BOTH safe!
While cats are a beloved part of our lives, they are not part of Nature’s landscape. Cats are hunters – introduced by humans. They love to catch birds, who are easy pickings during their exhausting migratory journey.
We can love cats while loving birds - and protect both! If a dog should not chase a deer, maybe a cat should not chase a bird. Our domestic pets are our responsibility.
Indoor cats live longer, healthier lives, averaging 14 years. Outdoor cats face more dangers and live 2-5 years on average.
All the cool cats are wearing bird-safe collars!
Enjoy exciting cat life inside with more playtime, a cat playground, and a contained outdoor catio. Safe and Fun!
If your cat must be outdoors, Maine Audubon recommends a “Cat Bib” to hamper grabbing, or a special collar to warn birds away.
The grouses and other birds will thank you!
Lights at night confuse migratory navigators.
Glass is invisible to birds! During the day, it reflects the sky and surroundings. At night, inside lights entice birds into the window.
During migration thousands of birds may fall victim to
just one building,
in one city,
on one evening,
night after night.
Make your windows bird safe year-round. Break up reflections using decals, dots, netting, or painted designs. Our vision quickly adjusts, making these warning spots insignificant to us, but they save bird lives! Encourage local neighbors and businesses to do the same.
During Migration: Turn off lights that are unnecessary and bright and close your blinds or curtains at night.
Join your local “Lights Out” initiatives and talk to your legislators about encouraging local businesses to turn off lights at night during the few weeks of fall and spring migration. If New York and Houston can take steps … so can our towns and cities! Bonus: it saves $$ !
Explore Further!
Learn more about the challenges to birds, including those during migration and simple ways you can help:
BirdCast uses weather radar data, verified by ground observations, to track spring and fall bird migrations. This information can help communities, organizations, - and you! - figure out the short times needed to turn lights out, or pause wind turbines, or redirect air traffic. Check out the live migration maps in the spring and fall. Learn about migration and light pollution, “Lights Out” projects, and how you can help.
Make your yard - no matter how big or small - part of the Home Grown National Park! Become part of the growing number of yards across the United States that host native plants to support birds and other wildlife.
Several sources offer comprehensive overview of the challenges facing birds today:
#BringBirdsBack explores causes of decline in bird populations - almost 30% in 50 years! - and several simple things we can do to help birds.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service offers a collection of resources related to challenges facing birds, as well as information about bird protections.
Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s FAQ about the impact of cats and window strikes on birds.
The American Bird Conservancy presents a variety of challenges, including habitat loss, pesticide use, and window collisions, and explore solutions and ways you can help!
Audubon has ways to help birds thrive by making your yard more bird-friendly. Find native plants that are perfect for your container garden, planter, or yard using your zip code.
References and Image Credits
“Developments like the Eastern Village neighborhood on the edge of Scarborough Marsh will leave less room for the marsh to adapt to rising sea levels.” Portland Press Harold, shared with permission of photographer, Gregory Rec, https://themainemonitor.org/sinking-in-saltwater-scarborough/
Gray Plover (Pluvialis squatarola), also known as a Black-Bellied Plover, feeding on mudflat, Sanibel Island, Florida, U.S.A., © Hans Hillewaert https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pluvialis_squatarola_(summer_plumage).jpg.
“Clear-cut forests near Eugene, Oregon, Calibas,” CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clearcutting-Oregon.jpg.
“Man mowing a lawn at a home in Cape Cod, Massachusetts,” Horticulturaldna, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lawn_Maintenance_Services.jpg.
Two Great-Horned owlets (Bubo virginianus) sitting side-by-side on a tree branch. Image graciously shared by nature photographer, Karen Littlefield, Maine.
“A free roaming cat who has caught a spruce grouse holds it by the neck…” Navvvrisk, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons. The original caption misidentified the species as a Ruffed Grouse. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Domestic_Cat_in_process_of_killing_a_ruffed_grouse.jpg. Image cropped and filtered to diminish background and enhance focus on cat and bird.
Catios offer cats an exterior space to enjoy the outdoors safely. Translated: “The 1.6 square meter area of the passage lock, sufficient for cat shelter, on the left, in the middle, passage to the garden terrace, on the right there is space for 2 flower pots.“ Burkhard Mücke, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Terassengarten_am_Valentinhaus_11.jpg.
Cat outdoors wearing a brightly colored, very sporty BirdBeSafe collar to warn off birds. Research suggests there is 60% reduction in birds caught when cats wear this collar. https://www.birdsbesafe.com/cdn/shop/files/Paco-800_-800_8a9bf885-dc06-4ec4-a7b2-3f077a8fd17e.jpg?v=1695493994&width=600. Permission to use image of Paco-the-Cat in his handsome collar kindly provided by BirdBeSafe.
Estimates of annual bird deaths from specific human-related causes (other than habitat loss) in the United States and Canada. Industrial collisions include deaths from power lines (57 million), communication towers (6.8 million), and wind turbines (140,000–679,089). Graphic modified from https://www.3billionbirds.org/findings. Original source: Loss, S.R., Will, T., and Marra, P.P., 2015, Direct Mortality of Birds from Anthropogenic causes, Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, V. 46, p. 99-120, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-112414-054133.
Boston Back Bay skyline at night, Chris Rycroft from Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boston_Back_Bay_skyline_at_night_(51526138311).jpg.
Bird in front of plate glass office building window, Evaluating the drivers of bird-window collisions in North America, Bird Window Collision Project of the Ecological Research as Education Network, https://erenweb.org/all-projects/bird-window-collisions-project/. Photograph included with gracious permission of the owner, Dr. Stephen B. Hager, Augustana College.
Home with a light on and the window covered. Image from IStock with permission, https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/light-in-the-window-gm1469891888-500932864
There are many ways to deter birds from striking windows during the day. Patterns (like these dots on a North Carolina State Park), screens, dense decals, closely hanging cords, and similar deterrents on the outside of windows warn birds that they are seeing a reflection and not open space for flying. Turning lights off at night and/or closing curtains and blinds so that birds are not confused by the light helps keep migrants safe. Image provideed by S. Shipp.
“My cat playing and hair standing up.” Lauraprl, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Abby_playing_in_basket.jpg.