Create Backyard Habitats

Migration is an extremely dangerous time for birds-but they’ve been doing it for a heck of a lotta years and it works for them. What makes a migratory journey successful is being able to find reliable migratory stop over sites-places for fuel up for the next leg of the journey. They also need high fat food to get them through the winter. This is absolutely crucial for their survival. Unfortunately, its getting tougher to find suitable habitat for this. Sadly, only 10% of important stopover sites are protected, which means they are open to a free for all as it pertains to development, logging, and basic destruction. This is where we come in.

As natural habitat decreases, our back yards can become critical links needed to create contiguous habitat corridors for wildlife.

Planting native bushes, trees and other plants that provide food, protection from predators, resting spots during migration, and nesting spots during breeding season. You can do this whether you have a tiny backyard or a big one. You can even have a container garden if you don’t have any property! Why natives? In a word: insects.

Why Insects Matter

Almost all land birds - 96%, in fact - require insects to feed their young. Even seed-eating birds must often provide insects to ensure their babies survive.

Insects are incredibly nutritious and life-sustaining for baby birds. Did you know that, ounce for ounce, insects have more protein than beef?

Native Plants = Insects

But to have insects, we need native plants. Native plants and insects co-evolved over millions of years, creating relationships that are essential to healthy ecosystems. Our native insects are generally not adapted to feed on the alien plant species that dominate many urban and suburban landscapes.

This coevolution means that up to 90% of plant-eating insects have developed highly specialized relationships with particular plants - matching seasonal timing, evolving unique mouthparts, and tolerating plant toxins and other defenses.

Baby Birds Needs LOTS of Insects

According to Doug Tallamy, professor of entomology and wildlife ecology at the University of Delaware and a pioneer of the “bringing nature to our backyards” movement, a single pair of chickadees must find between 6,000 and 9,000 caterpillars to raise just one clutch of young during the breeding season. That is A LOT of caterpillars. Imagine one family of chickadees nesting in your yard, another family the next yard over...

Native vs. Non-Native Plants

To see the difference between native and exotic plants, consider this classic comparison:

Oaks (genus Quercus), our native trees, host over 550 species of caterpillars, while Ginkgo, a common ornamental tree from Asia, supports only 5 species.
Native cherry or willow trees host over 400 species of caterpillars, while nonnative Callary pears support about four.
Native dogwoods host over 100 species, whereas popular Asian Kousa dogwoods support virtually none.
Blueberries host over 200 species and even perennials such as the goldenrod and aster species each host over 100 species.

For a bird feeding its young, this is a life-or-death difference. It’s clear that native trees help feed hungry chickadee nestlings, while nonnative trees do little to support survival.

Don't Rely on The Neighbors

Don’t assume that a neighbor’s oak tree down the road solves the problem. The further chickadee parents must travel to find food, the greater the risk—and they’re competing with other birds for those limited resources.

Boosting Biodiversity

Studies show that planting native trees can increase local biodiversity by up to 30%. That’s because native trees provide food, shelter, and breeding grounds that local wildlife has relied on for millennia.

Try to have at least 70% natives in your yard for the greatest biodiversity!