Resources for creating healthy habitats for our native birds.

What can we do to help our birds?

There are a few things you can do to make your home more friendly to birds:

Plant native flora
Add a place to hide & perch
Add a water feature
Turn off all outside lights during migration season (or have them angled down or put on a timer.

"Seven Ways to Make Your Home More Bird Friendly”

Audubon Magazine, September 2022

Want help identifying the birds in your backyard! Download the Merlin app!

Native Plants for Birds

As a general rule, almost all native plant species provide food and habitat for our native bird species. Included here, however, are some standout plants that will help you attract native birds.

Ilex verticillata (Winterberry)

This seasonal favorite is a lovely addition to your holiday decorations, but be sure to leave some for the birds!

These plants are dioecious, meaning that they require a female and a male to produce those beautiful berries.

Native Plant & Bird Resources:

National Audubon Society’s Native Plant Finder

Check out Audubon’s podcast series: BirdNote!

Listen to new episodes here!

Listen to BirdNote Daily!

BirdNote Daily is a two-minute radio show that combines rich sounds with engaging stories, to illustrate the amazing lives of birds and give listeners a momentary respite from the news of the day.

Educational Videos

An Inside Look: The Science and Solutions for Bird-Window Collisions

Hosted by Audubon Connecticut and New York: “Each year up to 1 billion birds die after hitting glass surfaces in the United States. Fortunately there are many things we can do to reduce glass collision mortality, from fixing our own windows to advocating for bird-friendly policies in our communities.

Watch
An Inside Look: Planning for Bird-Friendly Cities That Put Nature First

Hosted by Audubon Connecticut: “From his new book The Bird-Friendly City, Timothy Beatley, PhD, presents new ideas around how cities can reduce dangers to birds and design buildings and urban neighborhoods that make room for biodiversity.”

Watch
Native Keystone Plants for Wildlife

Hosted by the National Wildlife Federation. “Keystone plants are natives that are essential to our ecosystems because they support 90% of the caterpillar species that enable our terrestrial birds to reproduce, as well as all of our specialist native bee species. Join Garden for Wildlife™ collaborator, Entomologist Doug Tallamy, as he shares the importance of keystone plants and how they support healthy wildlife communities.”

Watch