Create a Garden for the Birds

Plant flowers that will feed birds (red tubular plants for hummingbirds, sunflowers, daisies, goldenrods, asters, cosmos, zinnias and bee balm are great choices). Obtain a used container that will hold water and keep clean water for the birds in it. Place a small weatherproof box in the garden that holds a field guide, booklet for keeping a running list of birds seen and sketches, and writing utensils. A bench encourages quiet time in the garden. Other ideas include planting flowers in the shape of a bird or butterfly; planting a bean or morning glory teepee for hiding, and creating dust bath (dig up soil and mix with sand or ash) for birds. If you don't have the land to plant a garden, create a container garden using recycled containers of all kinds.

Collect data and send it to Celebrate Urban birds

It's easy! It's a great way to get started birding... and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology is trying to find out how important green spaces are for birds! You'll be contributing to great science. Get started by registering and ordering however many Celebrate Urban Bird kits you'll need. They are free.
Please make sure to regularly submit and view data.

by C. Hill

Place Nest Boxes or Nesting Structures in your Neighborhood.

Everyone enjoys nesting birds. Partner with community gardens, parks, schools, or individual landowners to put up nest boxes. Use untreated wood. A few tips to consider: proper ventilation is important, sloped roofs, rough interior walls, and drainage holes. Learn more about nestboxes. Your 4H group can monitor these boxes regularly. Visit Nestwatch to learn how to monitor nestboxes properly. Monitoring the nest boxes will help you make sure that House Sparrows and European Starlings are not using the boxes and competing with native species. Cavity nesting species such as chickadees, wrens, bluebirds, Tree Swallows, and many other species readily use artificial nestboxes.

To attract other species you might consider:

American Robins and Barn Swallows:

Install a nesting shelf and provide a source of mud nearby as Robins and Barn Swallows will use mud to build their nests. Here is a plan for one of these shelves: http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/wildlife/ndblinds/robin.htm

Alternatively an open nest box can be used (with one of the panels removed).

Mourning Doves:

Install a Mourning Dove nest basket in the crotch of a tree in your neighborhood. Make sure it has good cover!
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/wildlife/ndblinds/mourndov.htm

Mallards:

This Mallard nest basket might attract nesting Mallards in your neighborhood.
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/wildlife/ndblinds/mallard.htm

Attract Birds by Providing Water and Bird Feeders 

Birds need fresh, clean water for drinking and bathing. Make your neighborhood more attractive to birds by providing water!

A good drinking fountain for birds should be like a shallow puddle (nature's true birdbath). Choose a shallow container that is easy to clean. Be creative! Although birds prefer water basins that are on the ground consider if cats are a danger. If you think that a birdbath on the ground might be too tempting to cats, put the birdbath three or four feet off the ground. Place some sand in the bottom of the bath and arrange a few branches or stones in the container, so birds can stand on them and drink without getting wet (this is especially important in the winter).

You can try an immersion heater for keeping the water from freezing in a birdbath. These heaters are safe and cost pennies a day to operate or you could try putting a light bulb in a flower pot and place the water basin on top. The light bulb will keep the water from freezing.

 Learn more by reading BirdNotes Providing Water (PDF)

An easy way to attract birds is to put up a bird feeder. In cities it is best to use feeders with small perches suited for smaller birds that will not easily spill seed on the ground. Spilled food may attract rodents and larger flocks of unwanted birds. Nectar feeders or Nyger seed feeders are also ideal.

If bird feeders are not permitted in your area. Try a natural bird feeder! A simple potted sunflower or other seed or nectar bearing flower placed on your balcony may provide food for birds. Sunflowers are fun, colorful, and easy to grow. At least 43 bird species feed on sunflower seeds!

Your 4H group can monitor the feeders regularly. Visit Project FeederWatch to learn how to monitor your feeders from November through April and contribute your data to science.

Celebrate the Arts

Find art activities and lesson plans to help youth connect with nature. Activities include fabric collages, tile painting, bird mobiles and much more.

Create Bird Tiles for a cause!

This project is simple, creative, and brings attention to a cause you can really explore in depth and do something about.

Create Fabric Collages. 

Use your powers of observation and create your own original art. Improve you observational skills by thinking like an artist!

Video "A day in the Life of a Bird"
1. Go outside and observe nature.
2. Pick a  bird that you can easily observe in your neighborhood.
3. Research your bird. Use the Celebrate Urban Birds Bird Guide or the Lab's All About Birds sites.
4. Spend time watching your bird outdoors (take plenty of notes).
5. Create a draft of your story line -- double check your facts.
6. Begin your video.
7. Share your video with others, post it on YouTube, send it to Celebrate Urban Birds so we can share it on our website.

Hold a photo contest
Take photos of neighborhood birds, habitat, and people enjoying the outdoors.

Submit your photos to Celebrate Urban Birds to be featured on our website. You can host an evening gathering to display the photos and give prizes for the best (need ideas for prizes? Email urbanbirds@cornell.edu and we'll help you).  Be sure to check out the work of our Beautiful Birds in Urban Places photo contest winner, Marian Mendez.

Create a living sculpture for the birds or a vertical garden! Learn how to do this at: http://www.verticalgardenpatrickblanc.com/

How Can You Help Birds?

Explore how your group can help birds in your neighborhood.

Here's a few ideas:

• Teach others about the birds in your neighborhood. If people don't know the birds that visit local parks, streets, and rooftops, they can't love them and conserve them.
• Distribute Celebrate Urban Birds kits to those you think might most benefit from them.
• Collect and enter data for Celebrate Urban Birds. Show others the data you've collected by visiting the data out map: http://watch.birds.cornell.edu/cub/maps/map
• Hold a bake sale and donate the proceeds to your favorite conservation organization.
• Teach others about the threats birds face in cities. Don't be preachy. Find exciting, artsy, new ways of letting others know how to help. Could you create a mural, photo show, or book? 
• Learn more: Things You can Do to Help Birds.

Explore Sound 

Learn about the Urban Bird Sounds Project. This project led by students from Codman Academy Charter Public School (Boston, MA) is a model example of how to integrate technology with nature. It inspires youth and adults alike. Youth researched urban birds and created podcasts focused on the songs and calls of city birds. Podcasts and CDs  by youth are available for free.

Your group can begin slowly by exploring bird sounds, playing games, and just tuning in.

• Learn sounds of birds by visiting the Bird Guide and listening to the sound of each of the birds. Go outside, sit or stand, and listen to the sounds of the outdoors. Do you hear birds? Can you draw the sounds? Can you make mnemonics for the sounds you hear?
• Explore bird sound with Colleen McLinn from Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds. Play games and learn activities that support a better understanding of sound.
• Check out mnemonics for bird sounds: http://www.stanford.edu/~kendric/birds/birdsong.html
• Check out the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Bird Quiz to learn more about bird sounds and how to identfiy birds

Gardening and the Arts

Plants that are good for birds can also be fun for people:

• Create dyes from the plants such as asters, marigolds, and sunflowers
  Learn more about dyeing and working with fibers Cornell Garden-Based Learning Program:  http://www.hort.cornell.edu/plantsandtextiles/
• Create leaf prints. It's easy! Just pick the nicest looking leaves you can find in your garden (choose lots of different shapes) paint the leaves with a brush or dip them in paints on flat surface (cookie sheet or plastic). Then press the leaves with the wet paint face down onto paper or cloth. Carefully remove the leaves so the print remains. Choose fabric paints to design shirts and create great designs with leaves, flowers, and other natural material.
• Vines such as Trumpet Vine, Morning Glory, and grapevines provide great habitat for birds (nectar, fruit, and nesting habitat) and can also be arranged to grow in ways to create fun "houses" or quiet spots for kids or grownups to sit and watch nature. Use Sunflowers too.
• Dry flowers and make cards (Nasturtiums hold their color well, can be eaten by people, and are great for the birds). Learn more about drying flowers: http://www.hort.cornell.edu/gbl/planting/activities/pdfs/dryflowers.pdf
• Coneflowers attract many species of birds for their seeds and make delicious Echinacea tea. Simply place 1 tsp. of dried or 2 tsp. fresh coneflower leaves/flowers in a teapot add boiling water. Steep for 15 minutes.
• Grapevines provide great fruit for birds and can be woven into baskets

Learn more about Garden-based Arts

Visit Cornell's wonderful Cornell Garden-Based Learning Program website to learn more about integrating the arts and gardening.

What plants are good for birds?

The following plants are native, grow well in containers for those with small spaces, and are great for birds:

Annuals:
Prairie Aster, Aster/Manchaeranthera tanacetifolia
Plains Coreopsis, Coreopsis tinctoria dwarf
Indian Blanket, Gaillardia pulchella 
Five-Spot, Nemophila maculata
Baby-Blue Eyes, Nemophila menziesii
Tidy Tips, Layia platyglossa

Perennials:  Not often grown in containers long-term but can be done.
Lance-leaf Coreopsis, Coreopsis lanceolata
Purple Coneflower, Echinacea purpurea
Black-eyed Susan, Rudbeckia hirta
Crimson Clover, Petalostemum purpureum
Scarlet Sage, Salvia coccinea
Beard Tongue White, Penstemon digitalis

Thanks to: Earthly Goods
www.earthlygoods.com