Ten Ways To Help The Birds
As written in Paradise Not Yet Lost: The Tanagers and Warblers of Gamboa, Panama from Silence of the Songbirds, by Bridget Stutchbury (Harper Collins)…
It is almost impossible for a migratory bird to live outside its short life without coming face to face with our modern civilization and all the changes this has brought to the lands we share with them. Tropical forests are being cleared at the highest rate in the history of mankind, and grassland birds have had their tropical homes plowed to grow foods that we can eat. Migrants are forced to dodge their way over and around farms, cities, and suburban sprawl as they leapfrog north to their breeding grounds.
And with that said, let’s look at ten ways to help migratory songbirds…
- Buy Shade-Grown Coffee. Forest songbirds that winter in the tropics often live in traditional shade coffee farms where there are plenty of trees and food for birds. Most commercial coffee comes from sun coffee farms that have few trees (and use lots of fertilizers and pesticides).
- Buy Organic Produce from Tropical Countries. Tropical countries use large amounts pesticides that are highly toxic to birds. Banana plantations are amongst the worst.
- Buy Organic for Crops with Heavy Pesticide Use. Some crops in North America, like potatoes, corn and cotton are relatively dangerous for birds because of the type of pesticide used or the large area of farmland that receives treatment.
- Buy Wood and Paper Products Certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Certified companies use sustainable logging practices.
- Buy Paper Products made from Recycled Paper.
- Turn City Lights Off at Night during Migration. Millions of songbirds die every year after getting trapped among our towering skyscrapers.
- Reduce Bird-Window Collisions: Place bird feeders very close or very far from windows.
- Make Your Backyard Bird-friendly by Planting Shrubs and Trees.
- Keep Your Cat Indoors.
- Go Pesticide-free on Your Lawn.
Thanks CBC for this fantastic list.
Nathan was thinking green at 10:11 AM on July 26, 2007
Comments are sorta kinda broken right now. We're working on it but to save energy can only work in daytime when solar system is at peak performance.
silence+of+the+songbirds Bridget+Stutchbury
