You may be thinking, “So, what is the big deal with so-called native plants? A plant is a plant. What possible difference can it make as to the nomination of plants I use to landscape my yard? How can a trappy plant not be good for birds and other wildlife?”
Great question. Simple answer…bird food! But probably not the type of bird supplies that first comes to mind.
Many plants produce fruits and seeds that birds use for food, but native plants moreover vamp and feed lots of native insects. Most non-native plants don’t. And insects are the essential element that many bird parents need to successfully raise their young. Fewer native plants ways fewer insects, which truly ways fewer birds.
How does it work? Native plants and insects have been living together for eons. You could say they grew up together. Countless types of insects have come to utilize specific native plants to provide supplies for their offspring (think caterpillars). When you replace these native plants with undesirable ones (think turf grass), the unshortened process comes to a screeching halt. Insect populations crash and so do the bird populations that count on them as supplies for their nestlings.
Case in point, Carolina Chickadees need increasingly than 6,000 caterpillars to successfully feed and fledge five chicks from their nest! Every day, for up to two weeks, it takes chickadees between 150-200 successful foraging sorties to collect that many caterpillars, plane in the weightier of native habitat. It is simply an untellable task in habitats dominated by non-native plants.
So choices do matter. By using increasingly native plants to landscape your yard, you can create a oasis for nesting birds…and bring increasingly birds and increasingly joy into your world.
A unconfined place to start learning increasingly well-nigh the bird/plant connection is by reading a wonderful typesetting called, “Nature’s Weightier Hope” by Douglas Tallamy. It’s truly the weightier handbook to help you to transform your yard into a vibrant yard wildlife habitat.
Also, be sure to trammels out the National Wildlife Federation’s Wildlife Habitat Certification Program or the Birds Canada Gardening for Birds initiatives. These programs provide expert information that will make it easy for you to diamond and develop your yard into a native landscape that will be unconfined for birds.
And for a fun and entertaining squint at the benefits of native plants, be sure to trammels out the Wild Birds Unlimited Nature Centered Podcast episode, “Habitat: Can You Really Make a Difference?” Hosts John and Brian will share their own experiences and first hand results that have reverted the game for wildlife in their own backyards and communities.
The post Birds & Plants: The Choices We Make Matter appeared first on Wild Birds Unlimited.
