Help migratory songbirds survive

1. Buy shade coffee
Forest songbirds that winter in the tropics often live in traditional shade coffee farms where there are plenty of trees and food for birds. Most commercial coffee comes from sun coffee farms that have few trees and use lots of fertilizers and pesticides.

2. Buy organic produce from tropical countries
Tropical countries use large amounts of pesticides that are highly toxic to birds, including chemicals that are banned or restricted in North America. Banana plantations use one of the highest pesticide loads of any crop.

3. Buy organic for crops with heavy pesticide use
Some crops in North America are relatively dangerous for birds because of the type of pesticide used or the large area of farmland that receives treatment. Crops like potatoes, corn and cotton pose a chemical threat to birds.

4. Buy wood and paper products certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)
Companies certified by the FSC use sustainable logging practices that help to make sure the boreal forest will always be a home for the billions of songbirds that nest there.

5. Buy paper products made from recycled paper
The boreal forest is being cut down to fuel the enormous demand for paper products (toilet paper, paper towel, mail-order catalogues).

6. Turn city lights off at night during migration
Many songbirds migrate at night and are attracted to city lights, which they think are stars. Millions of songbirds die every year after getting trapped among our towering skyscrapers.

7. Reduce bird-window collisions
Birds cannot see glass and fly toward reflections of trees or toward what looks like an opening in the wall. Place bird feeders very close (less than 0.5 m) or very far (more than 20 m) from windows to reduce fatal injuries to your visitors.

8. Make your backyard bird-friendly by planting shrubs and trees
During migration, tired and starving songbirds will land almost anywhere in search of a safe place to rest and eat. Invite them to your backyard by offering cover and fruiting trees and shrubs.

9. Keep your cat indoors
An average outdoor cat kills about one songbird per week, so a typical community with a hundred cats that roam outdoors will kill over 1,000 songbirds during the breeding season. There are over 75 million cats in North America!

10. Go pesticide-free on your lawn
The ingredients in many lawn and garden pesticides are moderately or highly toxic to birds (e.g., acephate, malathion, dichlorvos).

Light pollution is harmful for humans, as well. Click here to find out why.

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Adapted from Silence of the Songbirds by Bridget Stutchbury. Published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. Copyright 2007 by Bridget Stutchbury. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.