It’s nesting time for many of our little birds, and they are out there house hunting! Providing housing opportunities for them will bring benefits to your garden as birds eat large numbers of insects like mosquitos, scale, various larvae, etc., and give you the pleasure of watching them raise their broods.
We have two styles of birdhouses for cavity-nesting birds like chickadees, wrens, nuthatches, and downy woodpeckers. These are locally made, designed to Audubon Society specifications, and are easy to clean at season’s end. Keep some of the small stems, twigs, dead blades of grass, combings from your shaggy dog, etc. from your spring garden clean-up in a corner of your yard for nesting material. Be sure to locate your bird houses where roaming cats can’t reach them.
Our bird houses are locally made by Evergreen craftsman, Urban Quint. His birdhouses are made with 5/8” natural untreated cedar. The front panel has a 1½” entrance hole, and a hole adapter is provided if you prefer smaller birds such as nuthatches and wrens. For easy cleaning, the font panel opens. Holes in the bottom serve to drain water and help ventilate the house. All houses are fastened using external grade glue to prolong life. Give one a try!
Did you know that Governor Polis has proclaimed “April Lights Off for Bird Migration Month”? From the Audubon Rockies we see that in the coming weeks, tens of millions of birds – from statuesque sandhill cranes to smaller meadowlarks and bluebirds – will pass through our state, marking a yearly pilgrimage.
Most (~80%) of these birds migrate nocturnally to avoid predators and take advantage of the calmer air. According to Zach Hutchinson, community science coordinator for Audubon Rockies, “During nocturnal migration, intense artificial lights can cause birds to collide with windows or walls, or cause them to circle in confusion, leaving them weak and vulnerable during their arduous journeys.”
Governor Polis proclaimed Lights Off for Bird Migration Month to raise awareness for this issue and its solutions, and a year ago, the Colorado chapter of the International Dark-Sky Association, Audubon Rockies, and Denver Audubon partnered to create Lights Out Colorado, a statewide awareness campaign. It encourages businesses and community members to turn off all non-essential outdoor lights to reduce light pollution. Doing so provides safer migration routes for birds. On the campaign’s website, Coloradans can take a pledge to help migratory birds, learn techniques for shielding lights, and find resources for contacting their local government and businesses.
In celebration of spring migration, Lights Out Colorado is holding a free webinar on Wednesday, April 13, 7-8:15 pm, about bird migration, featuring renowned Colorado State University scientist Kyle Horton.