By David Wasmuth

The NEEC is known for promoting pollinator gardens – key steps include planting native plants, avoiding pesticides, reducing lawn size, and minimizing fall cleanup (“Leave the Leaves” and “Save the Stems”). News flash: what’s good for insects is also good for birds!

Insects, especially in caterpillar form, provide essential protein for birds and are vital as a food source for growing nestlings. Native plants ranging from oaks and maples to goldenrods, asters, and violets are host plants for the insects our native birds depend on, so the more such plants you can add to your yard, the better for the birds. Pesticides, of course, devastate insect populations, effectively eliminating this essential food source. Particularly concerning is the recent suburban fad of mosquito fogging, which wipes out beneficial insects while having little effect on mosquito populations. A pesticide-free yard is a bird-friendly yard!

Our native birds coevolved with native plants and rely on them for food across the seasons, so keep this in mind when planning your garden. For example, serviceberry provides early season fruit while native dogwoods produce berries during fall migration; chokeberry and native hollies hold their berries through the winter when birds are hard pressed to find other food sources.

Seeds are a mainstay for many bird species, including finches, native sparrows, and overwintering juncos.  Asters and sunflowers are among the native plants that provide copious amounts of seed, but overzealous fall cleanups wipe these out as a winter food source. This means that “saving the stems” is essential for birds as well as insects. Also, “leaving the leaves” is not just for insects. From fall through spring, birds forage in fallen leaves in search of insects, hidden seeds, and nesting materials. Raking or leaf blowing eliminates this vital resource.

Remember that large, manicured lawns are food deserts for birds as well as insects. Reducing lawn size makes space for the native plants that will transform your yard into a bird sanctuary.

Finally, one thing that doesn’t belong in your backyard bird sanctuary is a nonnative predator against whom our birds have few defenses, so keep your cat inside. Both the birds and the cat will be safer.

For a list of recommended bird-friendly native plants for your zip code, visit the Audubon Society’s native plants database. The Native Plant Society of New Jersey provides a list of native plants for northern NJ, along with recommended sources for purchasing them. The Great Swamp Watershed Association conducts an annual native plant sale in April.