Building Bird Friendly Communities

Gold Finch sitting on a pink wildflower with many native wildflowers surrounding it

What are Bird Friendly Communities?

The goal of building bird friendly communities is to meet people where they are and provide healthy habitats for our feathered neighbors. Providing healthy habitats includes providing food, shelter, safe passage, and places for birds to raise their young. The best part of this initiative is that it can be done anywhere, from urban to rural environments, to help provide birds and wildlife a safe place to live.

The two main programs within Bird Friendly Communities are Bird Friendly Buildings and Plants for Birds.

Bird Friendly Buildings

Research indicates that, on average, over 1 billion birds are killed in the United States annually due to window collisions. Birds hit windows and reflective building surfaces because they are not perceived as solid material. Artificial light exacerbates the issue, especially during migratory periods. This is because the disorienting aspect of urban and suburban light exhausts migratory birds, causing them to land in our towns and cities where lots of glass is an inevitable reality.

You can help be a part of the solution! Appalachian Audubon has branded its Bird Friendly Buildings initiatives as Bird Safe Harrisburg, which aims to make the greater Harrisburg region a safer place for birds through Lights Out, collision monitoring, and bird safe glass projects and education.

Learn more about Lights Out, Bird Friendly Windows, and Collision Monitoring!

 

Plants for Birds

Pink cone flowers in bloom

By simply choosing native plants for our yards and public spaces, we can restore vital habitats for birds in our communities and help them adapt and survive in the face of climate change.

Find out more about Plants for Birds.

Why Build Bird Friendly Communities

Birds are facing increased threats from urbanization to climate change. We need to build bird friendly communities everywhere we can to provide support for birds and wildlife and to ensure their existence for future generations.

Image showing a graph with the decline in bird species since 1970 as 2.9 billion birds gone

We’ve Lost One in Four Birds

Since 1970

Decline of North American Avifauna published in Science by researchers at seven institutions, the findings show that 2.9 billion breeding adult birds have been lost since 1970, including birds in every ecosystem.

THE FOUR MAIN RESULTS

  1. There are 2.9 billion fewer breeding birds in North America than there were in 1970.

  2. Even common, beloved species have undergone staggering losses.

  3. Landscapes are losing their ability to support bird populations.

  4. Yet over this same period, landmark conservation efforts have helped bring some birds back.

Want to help? Here are 7 Simple Steps brought to you by 3billionbirds.org

Why Birds Matter

We know birds matter for many reasons. From improving health to economic impact, we need birds.

Helping birds helps us all… and birds need your help! The loss of 3 billion breeding birds is a problem for humans as well—here are five real-life examples of how birds make our lives better.

Learn more at 3billionbirds.org