Natural Resources Commission: Create a Bird-Friendly Community

Published on May 30, 2025

As summer begins and bird activity remains high, it's the perfect time to take action to support our feathered friends. While the St. Charles Natural Resources Commission celebrated World Migratory Bird Day in May with an evening bird walk and lights out on the tower of the Municipal Building, the 2025 theme — Shared Spaces: Creating Bird-Friendly Cities and Communities — reminds us that bird conservation is a year-round effort.

This year’s theme promotes the importance of a healthy coexistence between people and birds. Bird-friendly practices include creating healthy habitats, reducing bird collisions with buildings and glass, reducing pollution, and providing ample food sources for birds. No matter what type of community you live in, YOU can help birds!

How to Help Birds in Your Community

• Plant native species of trees, shrubs, wildflowers, and grasses: native plants provide food for native birds, pollinators, and other beneficial insects.
• Make your home or other building safer for birds by taking steps to treat your windows to reduce building collisions.
• Turn off outdoor lights between dawn and dusk, especially during fall and spring migration seasons.
• Leave your leaves alone as insects (aka bird food!) rely on the habitat fallen leaves provide, especially over the winter months. Dead leaves also decompose creating compost that can improve soil structure and fertility.
• If you own a rural property, encourage fencerows, un-mowed ditches, and natural areas to help feed and provide habitat for birds.
• If you live in an apartment, set out a balcony pot of native plants to help feed insects that help feed birds.
• Discontinue using pesticides and herbicides, which kill insects and the plants that many birds rely on for food.
• Protect and restore habitats such as woodlands, wetlands, and native meadows where birds live and breed.

Take pride in the important contribution you are making to birds in your community and tell others about your passion for conservation!