Migrating songbirds like this Cape May Warbler will search out habitats that provide leaves, seed tassels, and branches to forage for high protein ‘bugs.’ Good nesting habitat and feeding areas sustain birds throughout the nesting and fledging period, such as the cover and foods provided by elderberry bushes for California Scrub Jays and a variety of other birds ranging from quail to songbirds and flycatchers.

As spring approaches, birders are looking beyond their winter feeding stations and preparing their yards for the coming waves of spring migration, and the nesting season. With recent research pointing out dramatic reductions in many species’ populations during recent decades, scientists have identified habitat loss as the biggest reason for the declines. That means every little bit of backyard habitat can be essential in helping to increase four essential elements for birds – food, water, cover, and a place to nest.

You probably already provide a variety of bird foods and fresh water, so how else can you help? Cover is another word for habitat, which different birds rely on in different ways. Birds use cover to forage in, rest in, use as a safe haven during inclement weather or when a predator approaches. Cover may also provide nesting sites and areas where fledglings can hide after leaving the nest.

Good landscaping practices create and improve habitat for the greatest variety of birds. Landscaping your yard to make it more attractive for you and your family, and to benefit birds year-round is an impressive goal for this spring. One thing that can help you reach such a goal is to look into certifying your yard with the National Wildlife Federation (NWF).

Certified Wildlife Habitat

The National Wildlife Federation’s Certified Wildlife Habitat program hopes to inspire everyone to create a haven for wildlife in their yards. Sponsored by Wild Birds Unlimited, this exceptional program has been helpful to countless birders and property owners to guide them in simple ways to improve their enjoyment of their yard while providing more bird habitat in urban, suburban, and rural spaces. One important consideration is to use native plants whenever possible. Birds have adapted to living among these native plants, so it’s the easiest way to provide the best access to the best habitat.

Emphasize Native Plants and Tiers of Vegetation

When planning new landscaping for your yard, try choosing native plants in a variety of sizes and densities. Consider adding a native plant section to your yard – a native garden, which can yield beautiful native flowers for you, but also for hummingbirds, goldfinches, orioles, and others.

Micro-habitats such as a native garden can be important, even during a short period when native plants provide a food source while flowering or fruiting. The same plants, especially bushes and trees combined with other natives, can provide cover for birds to rest in, forage among, and a safe haven for nesting. Check the NWF website listed below for a list of native plants to use in your area, and consult with local native plant specialists to get some advice and weigh your options about what plantings will work best in your yard among the many options of flowering plants, fruiting plants, bushes, and trees.

It’s always best to create tiers of plants, not in a straight line necessarily, but use your landscaping eye and see what looks best for you – and birds that pass through your property. Canopy structure, like trees in different heights and shapes, mid-level vegetation including shrubs, plants that grow one to three feet high, and structure close to the ground in the form of leaf litter and other ground cover all fulfill slightly different habitat elements. Birds need a variety of vegetation heights and densities to maximize their opportunities to feed, rest, and nest safely.

Be a Little Wild

Maintaining your landscape in a sustainable, environmentally-friendly way ensures that the soil, air, and water that native birds – and people – rely on remain healthy. Avoid using herbicides, insecticides, fertilizers, and other chemical treatments as much as possible. Try going one year without using any chemicals on your yard; you may get a few weeds, but are they really that bad? You can always remove problem weeds by hand or dig them up individually. Eventually you may want to use a more uniform control, but then check out non-toxic ways of controlling weeds as a viable alternative.

Also consider reducing your mowing; by providing areas where lawn grasses are permitted to grow taller, you provide another level for cover and feeding for birds. You will also find that if you allow some areas of grass to seed, it provides a pleasing area of tall grass with attractive seed heads that eventually change from green to yellow during fall and winter. Some mowed open spaces are welcome too, and may be preferred by robins and other thrushes, doves, flickers, native sparrows, and more.

A decorative log, even one that shows some level of decay, can add an element of interest to your yard, and it can be attractive to nuthatches, woodpeckers, flycatchers, and other birds, especially if it has an old branch attached yet that birds can use as a slightly elevated perch. Some birders have even added an upright log to their yard – a snag – that requires digging a hole to anchor the hefty branch upright. It takes some extra effort, but an upright snag can be especially rewarding when woodpeckers visit, and they may even be inspired to excavate a nesting cavity. Then too, even a pile of dead branches can be a helpful escape for ground-oriented juncos, thrushes, towhees, native sparrows, and others – and such a brush pile can provide sources of food too.

Nest Boxes for Cavity Nesters

It seems there are never enough natural cavities or woodpecker-excavated cavities to go around for cavity nesting birds. That’s where we birders come in with our birdhouses and nest boxes (which are the same thing). Nest boxes come in all sizes, depending on the kinds of birds you wish to benefit and share your property with – but there are 88 species of birds that will use nest boxes, so you have plenty of options. Then too, habitat can dictate which species you will attract, so if you have specific species you would like to benefit, look into their habitat preferences in the website provided below.

Most people like to attract wrens, chickadees, and bluebirds to their yards by providing small nest boxes, although bluebirds are less likely to use an urban nest box unless you have some open property adjacent to your yard. Many birders also like to add one big nest box to the mix with hopes of attracting nesting or roosting screech owls. And if the habitat is right, an open property might attract a nesting pair of American Kestrels, and with wetlands nearby you may entice a nesting Wood Duck, Hooded Merganser, or another of the “smaller” cavity nesting ducks.

For the best information about nest boxes and bird houses of all sizes for all kinds of cavity nesting birds, see https://nestwatch.org/learn/all-about-birdhouses/features-of-a-good-birdhouse/

Certification: To learn more about the National Wildlife Federation’s Certified Wildlife Habitat program, you can visit the Wild Birds Unlimited website at https://www.wbu.com/certify-your-yard/ or the NWF website at https://www.nwf.org/CertifiedWildlifeHabitat/Habitats/Information

Native Plants: For more information about native plants, shrubs, and trees used to enhance landscaping in your area, see https://www.nwf.org/NativePlantFinder/Plants/Trees-and-Shrubs