Let’s get the facts straight: birds did not evolve from dinosaurs. Birds are dinosaurs. Specifically:

“The present scientific consensus is that birds are a group of maniraptoran theropod dinosaurs that originated during the Mesozoic Era.” Origin of Birds/Wikipedia

Consider that most of terrestrial life depends, either directly or indirectly, on flowering plants and around 90% of flowering plants depend on pollinators, such as birds, to reproduce. Unfortunately, 40% of the world’s bird species are in decline. In the US and Canada alone, nearly 3 billion birds have disappeared since 1970. Habitat loss and pesticides are the main culprits.

Yards make up roughly 17 percent of the continental United States: almost four times the land area taken up by national, state, and regional parks. And those yards are dominated by turf grass, because Americans love their lawns. Unfortunately, lawns represent a form of habitat loss for birds, because they don’t supply enough food or shelter for the little critters. And our lovely trees and flowers are often unwelcoming as well, thanks to over-enthusiastic use of pesticides.

We can help reverse the decline of these lovely creatures via bird-friendly gardening. Per Cornell University, National Wildlife Federation, and the US Forest Service, here are a few tips on just how to do that:

  • Downsize the lawn and and plant native plants where the grass used to be. Use a wide variety of plants that bloom from early spring into late fall. As for what to plant, go to Audubon’s Bring more birds to your home with native plants webpage, enter your 5-digit zip code to use Audubon’s native plants database and explore the best plants for birds in your area, as well as local resources such as nearby nurseries and online plant retailers.

  • Avoid modern hybrid flowers, especially those with "doubled" flowers. Often plant breeders have unwittingly left the pollen, nectar, and fragrance out of these blossoms while creating the "perfect" blooms for us.

  • Use pollinator-friendly trees and shrubs in your landscape, such as dogwood, cherry, plum, willow, and poplar, which provide pollen or nectar, or both, early in spring when food is scarce.

  • Eliminate pesticides whenever possible. If you must use a pesticide, use the least-toxic material possible. Read labels carefully before purchasing and use the product properly. Spray at night when pollinators are not active. Do not use systemic pesticides.

  • Keep Cats Indoors. Indoor cats live longer, healthier lives. Outdoor cats kill more birds than any other non-native threat.

The dinosaurs never went extinct. Let’s keep it that way.

Links:

https://www.birds.cornell.edu/home/bring-birds-back/

https://www.audubon.org/native-plants

https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/plantsanimals/pollinate/gardeners/

https://www.nwf.org/communitywildlifehabitat

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