Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day: 2025’s theme is Shared Spaces. ‘Tis a good time to take stock of your garden; think of it as a wellness check for birds (which ends up including so many other critters).

For the past 3 ½ years I have been documenting birds in my yard and neighborhood. My morning walk is to a bridge that crosses Nippersink Creek, just before it goes through Genoa City. The creek riparian zone borders private property so my view is limited. Hence, I use the Merlin app (it’s free from Cornell Lab). My tally has grown to almost 140 species while my yard list is roughly 25-30 species. Since I have not seen all the species (many are small and deeper in the woods on private property) I cross-reference Merlin with the McHenry County Conservation District’s breeding bird list for Glacial Park (107 species).

Then in my spare time I check the Wisconsin Society of Ornithology’s breeding bird list to find out when those species are here, then hit the books to learn what they need. That always leads me to I buy more plants!

In 2020, I started planting a Bird Diner (basically my whole front yard). With 83 native plant species, food options for insects and birds may be covered, but it lacks in shelter – mostly as it is a small town lot, with limited vegetation layers, and a corn field behind me. So, as I wander I keep an eye out to see where the birds might head to roost or nest by looking more closely at the neighboring vegetation.

One of the most helpful books for this endeavor is by Sharon Sorenson: Planting Native to Attract Birds to Your Yard. Her reality-check “lessons” in the first chapter challenged me to take a closer look not only at my yard, but the whole neighborhood, the few remnant wild spaces, and beyond. It helps me understand why a chickadee needs about 2 acres in its territory to find food, water and shelter – in enough space is key.

Sharon writes about the lessons she learned by documenting the birds she saw in her 3-acre yard in Mount Vernon, Indiana.
1.  Over the course of one year, 114 species in total were sighted in her yard:
• BUT- only 29 species came to feeders;
• 75% never came to feeders! So something else was bringing them to the yard.
• Some of those who didn’t come to feeders, did come for water. (I found that true too.)

2.  Of the 114 species, 76 species visited only seasonally (migrating/breeding/overwintering):
• 33% of the 114 species were passing through during migration.
• half of those were only migrating thru for a few weeks in April-May and/or September-October. ONLY 1 came to feeders – but many came to drink.

LESSON: During migration, birds are burning calories at a high rate; powering through fat reserves.
Spring migration: birds need protein (i.e. insects that are emerging with new leaves).
Fall migration: birds need to store up on fats/lipids found in seeds & native berries.
BUT they all need water throughout the year!

3. SUMMER time: The 38 resident species are raising young along with ¼ of the 76 seasonal birds; many are neotropicals that migrate from Central/ South America, coming north to breed, nest and raise their young before migrating south again at end of summer. (Read that as more birds that need food!)

• Bird babies need protein for their fast growth (from hatch to fly, to first molt/ first migration/ overwinter within 2 months)!

• Douglas Tallamy, entomologist and founder of Homegrown National Park, studies chickadees, a bird that weighs 1/3 of an ounce. He watched as both parents brought a caterpillar to the nest once ever 3 minutes from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. for 16-18 days until the chicks fledged. That’s a total of 350-570 caterpillars every day! Basically, a total of 6,000-9,000 caterpillars are needed to successfully rear 1 clutch of chickadees!

LESSON: The demand by birds for insects is huge.

4. WINTER time: Shelter is important along with water for 38 resident species along with ¼ the 76 seasonal species from farther north that come south to Indiana to overwinter.

• Shelter is important as is water, but winter diet switches to what is seasonally available in a new habitat. Most birds switch to seeds and berries; some still can hunt dormant insects overwintering in galls, leaf litter or in tree bark. It’s also important to leave seed stalks in place.

5. Where’s the food (bugs)? For the 114 species – there’s a wide variety of ways and places to find food.

• Some foraged only in the upper canopy
• Some foraged in the middle canopy
• Some foraged on or near the ground
• Some hung out in conifers
• Some visited the garden for seeds or nectar
• Some focused on berries or bugs

LESSON: Vertical vegetative structure can be equally important not only for food but nesting sites as well as just good old shelter from weather and predators

Of the 114 species about 50 species would be considered unusual yard birds (one timers).
(Sharon’s garden had a concentration of bird-friendly plants which no doubt brought them in.)

* SPECIAL NOTE: If you are even mildly interested in the well-being of birds and pollinators, then be wary of cultivars and hybrids; they may look pretty but too often that comes at the expense of lower nutritional value of the nectar and seeds/berries. Birds know the difference. Some berries end up with more sugar when the birds need the natural lipids to get through the winter. Too often they end up eating such due to the lack of the natives, or enough of the natural food supply.

AVOID plants that have been sprayed with Neonicotinoids. These chemical toxins are absorbed into the plants (become systemic throughout) to keep off pests. A death-toll for bird food such as caterpillars, etc.

Check labels. Ask questions. Buy from trusted native plant nurseries; support environmental organizations holding native plant sales. There’s plenty of info available on-line for the upper Midwest region.