OUTDOOR CORNER: CHIPPIN IN CAN SAVE THE CHIRPING

Do you watch birds? Chances are you probably do. Birdwatching is one of the most popular outdoor activities nationwide. Missouri alone generates $165 million annually just from equipment sales and visitation expenses!

Because you are probably one of the millions of people who do watch birds, you might be interested in learning the secrets to benefiting birds. No I am not talking about feeders, houses and bird baths. Those are well known tactics, but I am talking about lesser known tips that really, really help birds out!

1. Keep your cats indoors. Believe it or not your outside cat is a huge threat to wildlife birds in particular. Urban cats that live outdoors eat as few as 14 wild animals per year. The diet of a "country" cat is 90 percent wild animals. Unfortunately these cats are not eating as many mice and rats as we hope they would be. Instead cats are killing songbirds that come to your feeders and bird baths.

Worse, the cats are killing and eating the fledgling birds that have not quite gotten the hang of flight yet. This makes a bird's reproductive efforts useless for that year. Indoor cats are not only safer for songbirds, but these cats tend to have fewer diseases and parasites. Spay or neuter your cat to keep the population down.

2. Go native with your plants. Not all birds like to eat seeds. Some birds like to eat berries and others like to eat insects. If you plant native shrubs, such as serviceberry, deciduous holly, american holly, flowering dogwood, rough-leafed dogwood, or blackhaw they will provide berries for birds such as robins, mockingbirds, catbirds cedar waxings and others.

In addition these trees provide protection from the wind rain, and predators.

3. Think before you spray. Four million tons of pesticides are sprayed in the U.S. every year. One-tenth of the bird population dies each year from exposure to pesticides. That is roughly 67 million birds! Consider using natural pest control methods such as pepper spray in gardens or putting up a bat house. Bats can eat half their weight in insects every night.

4. Buy shade grown coffee. Many of our summer birds spend winters in the rainforests of South and Central America. Most coffee plantations are composed of sun dependent coffee plants that cannot tolerate the shade of rainforest canopy trees. This requires the rainforest canopy to be cut. Migratory songbirds cannot live on most coffee plantations due to the lack of rainforest habitat.

If you are interested in where to purchase shade grown coffee check out the Smithsonian's Migratory Bird Center: Coffee Corner web site at www.si.edu/smbc/coffee.htm.

5. Buy a Duck Stamp. You do not have to be a waterfowl hunter to purchase a duck stamp. Ninety-eight cents of every dollar collected from duck stamps goes toward wetland conservation. Wetlands are not only important for ducks and geese but are crucial for certain birds during migration. Duck stamps can be purchased from most vendors that sell hunting permits or from your local post office.

These stamps are popular with art enthusiasts and wildlife fans. Their purchase will help the songbirds you adore! An added bonus is that you can visit national wildlife refuges such as Mingo or Crab Orchard without paying the daily entrance fee.

6. Get involved! Find out how your city planners view green space, city park management, or any place with wildlife potential. Community decision makers are usually very receptive to input, especially if you have a good understanding of the issues.

Another way to get involved is to participate in a Christmas or spring bird count. These counts help scientists keep tabs on bird population trends.

7. Donate old binoculars to a younger person. If your old binoculars are in good condition but just need a little work, consider giving them away. This will get another person involved in birdwatching.

Today songbirds have huge conservation problems that can cause their decline and demise. Only action from concerned citizens can keep their populations healthy and plentiful enough to enjoy for years to come!

A.J. Hendershott is an education consultant with the Missouri Department of Conservation.