Photo by Chris Bosak
A Northern Cardinal, left, and an American Goldfinch perch in a tree near a feeding station at Cove Island Wildlife Sanctuary in Stamford, Conn., in March 2015.

Here’s a press release shamelessly used in full here from the National Audubon Society. It’s good information, so here it is. (The post is jazzed up by one of my own photo, however.)

TIP SHEET: Winterize Your Yard for Birds

Tips on How to Welcome Winter Birds For Reporters and Bird Lovers

NEW YORK (December 15, 2015) – With winter just days away, and the Christmas Bird Count finally here, there’s no better time to protect the birds you love. Birds have the same needs—food, water, shelter—in winter as they do any other time. Helping these winter visitors could help sustain their populations in both their wintering and summering grounds. The National Audubon Society has compiled the following guide on simple ways you can help.

Bird-friendly Yards and Communities

Where birds thrive, people prosper. One of the most important things we can do to help birds and other wildlife is to make our yards bird and wildlife-friendly.

• Minimize the amount of manicured lawn in your yard. Reduce the amount of pesticides and fertilizers in your yard and plant native species. The wilder and more varied, the better it is for your avian neighbors.
• Make a brush pile in the corner of the yard. Collect and set aside fallen branches and logs. This will provide shelter for birds from predators and storms, and a place to roost at night.
• Rake leaves up under trees and shrubs and leave them there. The resulting mulch will make a lush environment for the insects and spiders that birds love to eat.
• Create a songbird border of native trees and shrubs to create shelter from wind. Berry and fruit-producing shrubs and trees such as dogwoods, hollies, chokeberries, and elderberries and cherry trees are favored by many types of birds.  Plant native species whenever possible, and avoid invasives.
• Clean out old nest boxes and feeders. It’s wise to remove old nests and seeds from shelters and feeders to prevent birds from getting sick.
• Protect Your Windows. About a billion birds die from glass collisions each year. You can reduce this threat by making all your windows visible to birds. Glass appears clear or reflective to birds. Visual cues and markers as window decals on the outside of windows alert birds to the presence of glass.

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