Part 11

Protecting Bird Habitat

Each year your state wildlife agency, private conservation groups, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, other federal agencies, and many private landowners and business leaders work together to conserve and manage millions of acres of habitat—swamps, forests, ponds and grasslands. These habitats provide nesting habitat for songbirds and shorebirds, ducks and geese, hawks and owls.

You can make a difference in helping protect habitats for migratory birds by joining Partners in Flight, a consortium of the above groups dedicated to finding reasonable ways to maintain the health of bird populations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Partners in Flight, please contact U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Office of Migratory Bird Management, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203.

Another way that you can help preserve a disappearing but valuable natural resource—wetlands—is by buying Federal Duck Stamps at your local post office. Money from sales of these stamps is used to protect wetlands. For more information, write U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Federal Duck Stamp Office, 1849 C Street, NW, Washington, DC 20240.

All photos copyright Maslowski Photo, Inc. except as noted.

Additional Resources

Books

A large variety of books are available on attracting, housing, feeding, and gardening for birds. Check your local library, book store, or the Internet, for a selection of books on attracting birds to your yard.

Web Sites

There are many good on-line resources for bird enthusiasts. Below are a few useful web sites that discuss some of the more popular backyard birds; general information on bird feeding, housing, and gardening for birds; ways to keep birds safe from predators; and opportunities for you to become citizen scientists just by watching birds at your feeder.

WildBirds.com—feeding and attracting http://www.wildbirds.com

Birding/Wild Birds—backyard birds, birdhouses and feeders http://www.birding.about.com/hobbies/birding

Backyard Wildlife Habitats—National Wildlife Federation http://www.nwf.org/habitats

Cats Indoors—American Birding Conservancy http://www.abcbirds.org/cats/catsindoors.htm

North American Bluebird Society http://www.nabluebirdsociety.org

Purple Martin Conservation Association http://www.purplemartin.org

BirdSource—FeederWatch and Classroom FeederWatch http://birdsource.org

National Bird-Feeding Society http://www.birdfeeding.org/

Stokes Birds at Home/Birding—feeding, housing, and gardening http://www.stokesbirdsathome.com/birding

Disclaimer

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service intends no endorsement and cannot guarantee the accuracy of information found on these web sites.

Transcriber’s Notes

—Silently corrected a few typos.

—Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook is public-domain in the country of publication.

—In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by underscores.

—Website references from the printed book may not be current.