The benefits of birds in our yards
Increased biodiversity
Simply having birds around increases the diversity of your backyard. But that's not all. Sustained bird presence can encourage the growth of more plants, wildlife, and organisms in general through pollination and seed dispersal, nutrient cycling, predation, and other ecosystem services!
Sunday Tip:
Want to take increasing biodiversity to the next level for birds? Trying growing native plants or planting a pocket prairie.
Natural pest prevention
Birds help reduce many flying, crawling, and nuisance insect pests in our backyards. They are especially helpful in the spring and early summer when migratory birds are either stopping through or arriving for nesting season and need to re-up energy stores. As an added bonus—when our bird friends feed on insects and other arthropod pests, they reduce the need for pesticides.
Sunday birder fact: Did you know migratory birds like warblers can consume nearly two times their weight in insects per day? That’s some serious insect pest control for you and your family.
Disease prevention
Birds aren’t just eating insects. There are many predatory birds like vultures, eagles, and even crows that consume rodents and decaying carcasses too. Decomposing wildlife and rodents can pose disease threats to urban environments, but the presence of predatory birds ensures proper clean-up through consumption.
Alerting us to lawn issues
Ever heard the phrase "canary in the coal mine"? Many people think birds are just tearing up their lawns all the time. While they can sometimes consume freshly spread grass seed, much of the time, birds are actually helping to alert homeowners to signs of turf pests. So when you see large flocks of blackbirds, crows, or magpies digging up your grass, it’s a good indication that your lawn has an infestation of grubs.
Sunday Tip:
Birds can also help consume the seeds of not-so-bad lawn weeds like dandelions and other seed-producing weedy plants. Just be mindful, they might replant the seed in another area of your lawn post-consumption.
Pollination and seed dispersal
Attracting birds like hummingbirds to your yard helps increase plant pollination. In addition to pollination, many songbirds are also great at seed dispersal, or moving viable seed and fruit through consumption or accidental transport. The increased blooms and fruiting plants will lead to increased habitat and hopefully, an increased presence of birds.
Conservation and wildlife preservation
Human development has greatly fractured connections of natural areas in urban environments. Supporting birds in your backyard builds green corridors within your local ecosystem. By building better habitats for birds, you’re not just improving your immediate environment or urban environment. You’re supporting migratory "stopover habitats," or areas where birds can rest and refuel on migration to help support bird conservation and other wildlife.
Health improvement
Birds are good for us physically and mentally. Recent studies from our 1% for the Planet partners at Audubon have shown that birds actually help lower stress levels, provide mental health benefits, and help increase physical activity. Who knew all we needed were birds this whole time?
Activity and hobby for any age
Birding—particularly observing birds at feeders in your own backyard—is a perfect hobby for brand new bird watchers. This practice allows the observer to see or hear the bird up close, study its identifying characteristics by sight or sound, and learn about different species of birds through observation. As a cost-effective bonus, it doesn’t require gear beyond the naked eye or ear, and it’s engaging for all ages and all levels of ability.
Providing connection to nature
We’re so lucky that birds are really everywhere we look. They’re quite literally outside our windows right now! For all of us, birds can serve as a window to the natural world we exist in. Birds alert us to seasonal shifts like migration, teach us about different forms of wildlife communication, and give us an up-close view of wildlife behaviors like predation, mating, and nesting. We may not think about it often but we learn so much about living beings through our proximity to birds.
Supporting birds with Sunday
Becoming more aware of birds can change the way you view your backyard. When you begin to see all the ways wildlife and biodiversity help support your yard, you start to see how you can better support them right back. This is the type of positive reinforcement that leads to shifting management and practices to support more plants and wildlife. Already decided you want to do more to support birds? Us too! Learn how to build a bird-friendly backyard and ways to help birds during migration season.
Cited sources
Attracting Birds. National Wildlife Federation.
Birding With Benefits: How Nature Improves Our Mental Mindsets. National Audubon Society.
Bird your backyard. AgriLife Today, Texas A&M University Extension.
Feeding Rates of Warblers in Spring. The Cooper Ornithological Society.
Gardening for Birds. Penn State University Extension.
Improving Habitats for Wildlife in Your Backyard and Neighborhood. University of Missouri Extension.
Watching birds is fun, good for your health - and Michigan's economy, too. Michigan State University Extension.
