Simple steps to help birds !

How can everyone help birds?  As it turns out we can all do a few simple things that would be a huge help to birds!

(1)    The first way to help anything is to learn about it and birds are no different.  Take a few minutes and find out what bird species are in your neighbourhood and Google to see if there is anything in particular you can do to help that species.  Or you can simply pick a bird species you have seen or like in your area and dedicate yourself to helping it out!

(2)    The second way to help out neighbourhood birds is to make your yard Bird friendly.  This can be done in a number of different ways.  For instance you can hang a bird feeder and put out seeds or slices of fruit to help birds fill up in the cold winter weather.  In the spring you can plant a few shade hedges to create a windbreak around your property or flowers in your garden which will help attract and help feed birds.  In the summer you can put out a bird bath to help birds cool off in the hot temperatures.  Even a shallow dish of clean water is a huge help to birds.  Or, if you live near a woodlot, a marsh or a lake you can put up nest boxes to help cavity nesting birds!  Simply by putting up a small house for them you provide a huge source of help and a great source of enjoyment for yourself.  Doing just one of these things would make your yard a haven for birds!

(3)    Another way in which we can easily help birds is to try to stop Window Collisions.  While we all love to look outdoors, having large spotless windows has become a problem for wildlife.  Many birds don’t recognize windows as different from the sky and fly right into them.  Stopping this is as simple as hanging reflective ornaments or sun catchers in our windows, putting up window stickers or clings or close blinds so birds can see the obstacle in their way.  It is that simple and you’ll make a huge difference!

(4)    Ever wonder why so many bugs hang out around your outdoor lights?  At night many birds, bats, and insects confuse out house and street lights with the stars and moon!   This is especially problematic when birds are migrating and are very tired.  When they see our lights they circle around and can die from exhaustion.  One easy way that any of us can limit this problem is to turn off our outside lights, and close our curtains at night.   The organization FLAP (www.flap.org) has gone lots of great work helping us fixing these issues and have lots of other great advice!

Now no one expects you to do all of these things, but just picking one or two at the outset of the New Year can make a huge difference to your local bird populations!  Keep reading and every few days throughout our #Hike4Birds along the Trans Canada Trail as we’ll post more ways in which you can make a huge difference in protecting birds and wildlife in your region!  

 

See you on the trail!

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