What You Can Do
- Create habitat by planting native plants on your property for birds to use as resting stops while migrating. For information on what to plant, see our Links page.
- Remove invasive plants (the ones not native to your area) and preserve native trees and shrubs on your property.
- Provide fresh water for birds. A frog pond, water garden, bird bath or even a shallow dish of water will get lots of bird use, especially if the water is dripping, splashing, moving.
- Provide bird feeders in your yard, placed safely away from windows and near the natural protection of available trees and shrubs; fruit (orange halves, grapes, apple slices), suet, and meal worms can supplement traditional seed such as black sunflower and nigel (or thistle) seed.
- Build a brush pile for migratory birds to find shelter and places to forage.
- Prevent bird collisions with reflective glass on windows by using non-reflective window coatings, window screens, awnings, flash tape, or bird netting.
- Prevent bird collisions with your vehicle by watching for birds and slowing down when you see one in your path.
- Keep your pet cats indoors or confined to an enclosure when outdoors to help prevent the estimated hundreds of millions of birds killed by cats in the U.S. each year.
- Limit or avoid pesticide use on your property. Remember, birds act as natural pesticides.
- Donate to Wisconsin’s Bird Protection Fund to support the Wisconsin Stopover Initiative and other important bird conservation projects in the state.
Please donate to protect migratory birds