7 Ways to Help Birds
Ranked #1,740 in Pets & Animals, #45,876 overall
Why Birds Matter
Birds are an indicator species. This means that they are more sensitive to changes in an environment than other creatures. Thus, they are the first to show signs of being affected by any changes.
For example, many years ago coal miners took a canary with them into the mine. If the canary died, they knew that dangerous concentrations of methane (an odorless gas) were present.
In our modern world, birds can also alert us to dangers. These include many actions that we take for granted because everybody seems to be doing them. However, when these actions are practiced on a large, global scale, the results can be devastating for birds, and also for us.
Note: The bird in the photo is a Wilson's Warbler, male. The photo was taken at the Fullerton Arboretum in Fullerton, CA.
All of the photos in this lens were taken by Steve Kaye.
Table of Contents
Update: May 4, 2012
This lens received the Purple Star
Thank you Squidoo HQ
Outstanding Book
Laura Erickson's Book on How to Help Birds
Inspiration for this lens came from Laura Erickson's book. This book is an excellent reference of practical ideas that you can use to help nature, help yourself, and (of course) help birds.
Buy the Book from Barnes & Noble
If you'd like another option
- 101 Ways to Help Birds, by Laura Erickson
- This book provides 101 things that you can do to help birds, as well as help yourself by supporting a sustainable environment.
This Lens Is More Than a Book Report
First, Laura Erickson's book contains a wonderful list of ways that we can help birds.People who like birds are most likely applying many of her ideas. They are also seeking other ways that they can help birds, and so these people will welcome having a well-organized list of things that they can do.
And so, rather than provide a summary of ideas in her book, I'm presenting seven things that you can do. Each of them will make a difference for everyone, including birds.
1) Keep Cats Indoors
Outdoor cats kill an estimated 500 million birds each year. That's a tragic loss.Keeping your cat indoors is good for your cat, good for you, and good for the birds.
Your cat will live longer and stay healthier.
Outdoor cats go everywhere, even on lawns that have been treated with chemicals. When these cats clean their paws, they eat the chemicals. Then they get sick.
When your cat stays indoors, it will be less likely to collect fleas and other nasty pests. It will also be safe from cars, other cats, and predators.
This helps you by keeping infestations out of your home and by reducing vet bills.
So, keeping your cat indoors helps everybody.
We have a cat, who stays inside. Her name is Olivia Felini and she appears in the photo above.
And yes, our cat enjoys watching birds. She growls at them when they land outside my window. She studies them when they hop around on our patio. And she does all of this from her side of a window. So she can still be a complete cat without harming birds.
Meet Olivia Felini
President and CFO
- Click here to see Olivia Felini's Career Profile
- Olivia Felini serves as a vital member of my business. Although she fits the description of "small staff," her contributions are quite large. Read her career profile to learn more.
Poll: Pet Safety
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2) Leave Old Trees Alone
Birds need places to perch and hide. And many birds build nests in tree cavities that form in old, sometimes rotten, trees.So, here is a recommendation: When possible, trim as little as practical. When safe, leave old trees alone.
If a tree has died, perhaps the high risk branches can be cut off, leaving ten to twenty feet of the trunk.
If you manage a park, please leave as many old trees as safe and practical. This will make the park appear more natural and more attractive to birds.
There's an economic incentive, too.
It costs less to leave old trees alone.
If You Want to Help
- Click here for: Tree Trimming Resource Packet
- This web site contains materials and information designed to assist you in your efforts to protect birds within urban habitats, parks and open spaces. Included are form letters, resource guides, protection and regulation information, and contact lists and bird information.
Success Story
People Can Make a Difference
About 20 years ago there were almost no Western Bluebirds in Orange County, California.This small bird builds its nest in tree cavities. As old trees were cut down to make room for housing developments, shopping centers, and office buildings, Western Bluebirds disappeared from Orange County.
Then the Southern California Bluebird Club was formed. (You'll find them at: http://www.socalbluebirds.org) Their web site is also listed below with the links for local organizations.
The members of this club build, set up, and maintain nest boxes for bluebirds.
As a result of their efforts, over 7,500 Western Bluebirds were fledged in 2010.
Now, you will see Western Bluebirds in parks everywhere in Orange County, California. This shows that people can make a difference when they make good decisions.
Western Bluebird
This bird wants to thank everyone who helped provide nest boxes.
Western Bluebird, Male
3) Avoid Chemicals
Most lawn and garden chemicals are both dangerous and unnecessary.
These include pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers.
Most pesticides kill by disrupting the insect's nervous system. Most herbicides kill by causing abnormal (accelerated) plant growth. Both of these are bad for all other living things, which includes you, your family, and (of course) birds.
Most inorganic fertilizers are salts that can cause skin irritations or sickness (if consumed). Some fertilizes also contain additives, such as herbicides.
Even if the manufacturer claims that your yard will be safe after a few days, the birds don't know this. As a result, contact with these chemicals often kills birds.
In fact, no one knows that chemicals have been put on a lawn, including outdoor pets and your neighbor's children. All of them can be made sick.
Then, these chemicals wash into rivers and lakes as runoff after a rain. The scale of environmental damage caused by these chemicals is both frightening and depressing.
See the list below for books that show how to maintain an organic garden or lawn without using harmful chemicals.
You can also obtain information from your local garden store.
These include pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers.
Most pesticides kill by disrupting the insect's nervous system. Most herbicides kill by causing abnormal (accelerated) plant growth. Both of these are bad for all other living things, which includes you, your family, and (of course) birds.
Most inorganic fertilizers are salts that can cause skin irritations or sickness (if consumed). Some fertilizes also contain additives, such as herbicides.
Even if the manufacturer claims that your yard will be safe after a few days, the birds don't know this. As a result, contact with these chemicals often kills birds.
In fact, no one knows that chemicals have been put on a lawn, including outdoor pets and your neighbor's children. All of them can be made sick.
Then, these chemicals wash into rivers and lakes as runoff after a rain. The scale of environmental damage caused by these chemicals is both frightening and depressing.
See the list below for books that show how to maintain an organic garden or lawn without using harmful chemicals.
You can also obtain information from your local garden store.
Beautiful Gardens Without Chemicals
Bird (and People) Friendly Lawns
4) Support Nature Organizations
Many groups are working hard to protect and preserve the environment.
They welcome your help and support.
In return, these organizations offer many educational and enjoyable activities.
For example, Audubon chapters organize field trips, conduct classes, record bird sightings, and participate in local fairs.
You'll find a list of groups to consider below.
They welcome your help and support.
In return, these organizations offer many educational and enjoyable activities.
For example, Audubon chapters organize field trips, conduct classes, record bird sightings, and participate in local fairs.
You'll find a list of groups to consider below.
National Organizations
Help Birds With These Resources
- Laura Erickson's Web Site
- You'll find a wealth of information here. This includes podcasts, articles, and links to more information.
- Audubon
- For more than a century, Audubon has built a legacy of helping birds.
- The American Bird Conservancy
- The American Bird Conservancy (ABC) works to conserve native birds and their habitats throughout the Americas.
- The Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- The Cornell Lab of Ornithology applies scientific excellence and technological innovation to advance the understanding of nature. Their web site contains extensive information about birds.
- North American Bluebird Society
- The North American Bluebird Society promotes the recovery of bluebirds and other native cavity-nesting birds in North America.
Organizations That Support the Environment
Each of these organization is working for a sustainable future
- Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
- NRDC is an environmental action group with over 1.3 million members and online activists.
- The Wilderness Society
- Since its founding in 1935, The Wilderness Society has helped protect nearly 110 million acres in 44 states.
- The Sierra Club
- This grassroots environmental organization has over 1.4 million members who work to protect our communities and the planet.
Local Organizations
Help Birds With These Resources
- Find Audubon Chapers in the US With This Link
- Enter your zip code to find local chapters in the US.
- Southern California Bluebird Club
- If you live in Southern California and want to help bluebirds, contact this group.
Poll: Organizations
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5) Provide Food
Grow plants in your garden that feed birds. Often these are native plants that require less water and maintenance than exotic plants.If possible, set up bird feeders for the birds that live in your area. Your local bird or pet store can offer recommendations on what will give you the best results.
You'll find that birds put on a fascinating show as they forage. It's something that you could watch for hours.
Excellent Source of Products That Help Birds
- Wild Birds Unlimited
- More than 270 Wild Birds Unlimited stores in North America sell everything that you might want to help the birds in your back yard.
Books on Organic Gardening
6) Shop Smart
That is, shop for environmentally friendly products.
This is smart because support for such products leads to a sustainable future for everyone.
I'll add that current business practices are not sustainable. We're cutting down old forests at rates that exceed the environment's ability to replace them. We're putting chemicals into the environment at rates that exceed the environment's ability to dispose of them.
So we can use the power of money to cause change.
Here's a short list of things that you can do.
1) Buy recycled paper products.
2) Buy organic foods.
3) Buy organic cotton products.
In general, buy environmentally friendly products and avoid environmentally hostile products.
Specific ideas appear below.
This is smart because support for such products leads to a sustainable future for everyone.
I'll add that current business practices are not sustainable. We're cutting down old forests at rates that exceed the environment's ability to replace them. We're putting chemicals into the environment at rates that exceed the environment's ability to dispose of them.
So we can use the power of money to cause change.
Here's a short list of things that you can do.
1) Buy recycled paper products.
2) Buy organic foods.
3) Buy organic cotton products.
In general, buy environmentally friendly products and avoid environmentally hostile products.
Specific ideas appear below.
Trees to Tissue Trash
Logging claims half a million acres of Canada's boreal forest each year.
Seventh Generation Paper Products
The following statement appears on the box of Seventh Generation Facial Tissues:
"If every household in the U.S. replaced just one box of 175-sheet virgin fiber facial tissue with 100% recycled ones, we could save:
- 582,000 trees
- 1,500,000 cubic feet of landfill space
- 210 million gallons of water
- and avoid 35,000 pounds of chlorinated pollution"
"If every household in the U.S. replaced just one box of 175-sheet virgin fiber facial tissue with 100% recycled ones, we could save:
- 582,000 trees
- 1,500,000 cubic feet of landfill space
- 210 million gallons of water
- and avoid 35,000 pounds of chlorinated pollution"
Shop With Your Own Bag
You can save paper by bring a reusable tote bag when you shop. You can also save money because some stores offer a small credit for each bag that you bring.
Here are some beautiful selections.
Here are some beautiful selections.
powered by Zazzle.com
Buy Bird Friendly Coffee
Check this out
When I buy coffee, I want three things. The coffee must be: 1) Organic, 2) Fair Trade, and 3) Shade Grown.
These mean that: 1) The coffee was grown without using toxic chemicals, 2) The people who produced the coffee were paid fair wages, and 3) The coffee was grown in a natural environment. As a result, I'm buying safer, more responsible, better tasting coffee.
These mean that: 1) The coffee was grown without using toxic chemicals, 2) The people who produced the coffee were paid fair wages, and 3) The coffee was grown in a natural environment. As a result, I'm buying safer, more responsible, better tasting coffee.
- Birds & Beans
- This is one of the best, most bird friendly coffees on the market.
It's absolutely delicious, too. The flavor is rich, full, and complex. I made a pot of the Breakfast Roast this morning, and this is one of the best tasting coffees that I have ever drank.
Audubon Bird Friendly Coffee
Here's another option
- Audubon Coffee
- Audubon has formed a partnership with the Rogers Family Company. They sell organic shade grown fair trade coffee. It's delicious, too, because I've tried it.
Find Audubon Coffee on amazon.com
7) Dispose of Trash Properly
Careless trash disposal kills birds
This is simple: Put trash in trash containers.Note the fish hook hanging from the wire. If a bird flies into that hook, it's gone.
Here are common forms of trash that are especially dangerous for birds.
1) Plastic rings used to secure six-packs of canned beverages. Birds become caught in the rings and thus are unable to fly.
2) Plastic bags. Birds become caught in the bags and thus are unable to fly. Or, birds eat the bags, perhaps while eating food on the bag, which clogs their digestive system.
3) Easter grass (the thin plastic strips commonly used to fill gift baskets). Birds use this to build nests, and then become tangled in the plastic and thus unable to leave their nest. (This trash is commonly seen on the lawns in parks after people finish holding a party.)
4) Any type of string, fishing line, ribbon, netting, or other trash that could ensnare a bird.
5) Fish hooks and anything else that could imbed itself in a bird.
What to do: Dispose of all trash in appropriate trash containers. Cut plastic rings before putting them in a recycle trash container. Render harmless any trash that could hurt a bird. This last point matters because some municipalities dispose of trash in an open dump.
Certainly, no one would discard trash on the floors of their home. This would be unsightly, unsanitary, and unsafe. Similarly, nature is our home. When it's clean, we're better and the birds are safer.
Bird With a Problem
If you look closely, you'll see fishing line attached to the bird.
This bird is at risk.
It has fishing line tangled, most likely, around one of its legs. If that line becomes caught on something, the bird will die.
Another Way to Manage Trash
Collect Less Trash
We receive paper trash from everywhere. This wastes time because you have to toss it out. It also costs money, even if indirectly. Somehow, someone has to pay for this trash. The cost is hidden in your bills, in the prices of products, and so on.
Here are some simple things that you can do to reduce paper trash.
1) Decline phone books.
Call the number printed on the cover and ask to have your name removed from the distribution list. If a web site is provided, use the web site to unsubscribe to any phone books that you don't use. (See the info below.)
2) Decline catalogs.
Call the company and ask them to stop sending their catalog.
3) Decline junk mail.
Avoid subscribing to junk mail. If possible, contact the sender and ask to be removed from their mailing list. If the sender resists, tell them that you want to save them the cost of mailing materials.
If the junk mail includes a reply card, return the card with a note asking to have your name removed from their mailing list.
4) Decline newspapers.
If you seldom read a newspaper, then stop the subscription. You'll save the cost of the subscription and eliminate a large amount of paper trash. This also applies to any other publications that you never read.
Here are some simple things that you can do to reduce paper trash.
1) Decline phone books.
Call the number printed on the cover and ask to have your name removed from the distribution list. If a web site is provided, use the web site to unsubscribe to any phone books that you don't use. (See the info below.)
2) Decline catalogs.
Call the company and ask them to stop sending their catalog.
3) Decline junk mail.
Avoid subscribing to junk mail. If possible, contact the sender and ask to be removed from their mailing list. If the sender resists, tell them that you want to save them the cost of mailing materials.
If the junk mail includes a reply card, return the card with a note asking to have your name removed from their mailing list.
4) Decline newspapers.
If you seldom read a newspaper, then stop the subscription. You'll save the cost of the subscription and eliminate a large amount of paper trash. This also applies to any other publications that you never read.
"People who litter are dumber than worms." (Approximate translation)
This Robin is furious that someone left trash in its home.
Smartphone Apps
Here are apps that help save birds
Stop Phone Directories
This link may work. Otherwise, call 866-329-7118 to opt out of receiving phone books.
- Opt Out of Phone Directories
- Use this link to stop phone books.
The Power of One
You have the power to change the world
All corporations operate like machines that have one goal: Make money.
This is important because there are two sides to making money: 1) Offering something for sale, and 2) People buying it.
So the problem is not corporations that sell dangerous products or engage in destructive activities.
The problem is people who support this by buying their products.
This is where you have power.
For example, I guarantee:
If people stopped buying paper products made from trees in boreal forests, corporations would stop cutting down those trees.
If people stopped buying products from corporations that destroyed the environment, those corporations would change the way they conducted business.
If people stopped buying trash, corporations would stop manufacturing trash.
And so on.
The only reason products appear in stores is that people buy them.
This is important because there are two sides to making money: 1) Offering something for sale, and 2) People buying it.
So the problem is not corporations that sell dangerous products or engage in destructive activities.
The problem is people who support this by buying their products.
This is where you have power.
For example, I guarantee:
If people stopped buying paper products made from trees in boreal forests, corporations would stop cutting down those trees.
If people stopped buying products from corporations that destroyed the environment, those corporations would change the way they conducted business.
If people stopped buying trash, corporations would stop manufacturing trash.
And so on.
The only reason products appear in stores is that people buy them.
Want to Know More?
Here's what's happening and what you can do
The American Bird Conservancy Guide to Bird Conservation
Amazon Price: $29.70 (as of 06/01/2012)
You can make a difference.
There are many success stories about how people identified a problem, gained political support, and took action. As a result, they rescued birds from extinction.
This book tells about birds at risk. And it tells about practical things you can do to save them.
I strongly recommend this book.
More Books on Bird Conservation
Preserving Nature, One Bird at a Time
What Changes Will You Make?
Now that you've read this lens, what will you do?
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d-artist May 21, 2012 @ 5:33 pm | delete
- Very informative lens...and the photos are spectacular! I respect all God's creations and Thank Him for the gift.
~d-artist Squid Angel Blessing~
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mistyblue75605
May 20, 2012 @ 4:31 pm | delete
- :)P thanks for sharing!
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mistyblue75605
May 20, 2012 @ 4:30 pm | delete
- Make my backyard more of a sanctuary!
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JohnTannahill
May 19, 2012 @ 1:13 pm | delete
- Similar advice to the RSPB here in the UK - putting the cat out is an old saying and people still do it all the time.
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amythomson187
May 16, 2012 @ 2:24 pm | delete
- Great Tips Steve!! I have learned a lot today... more than i ever have about Birds... thanks you. ps great pics one again, you have a gift :) Amy x
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About Steve Kaye
Author, speaker, nature photographer Steve Kaye uses his photos to inspire respect for nature
Books on Birds and Related Subjects
If you would like more information about birds, please consult this list.
by Steve_Kaye
Steve Kaye inspires people to respect nature. His photos show the extraordinary, unexpected beauty that can be found everywhere.
He is in his 4th c...
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