Review: Planting Native to Attract Birds to Your Yard

Planting Native to Attract Birds to Your Yard by Sharon Sorenson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Earlier this year I reviewed a thoughtful book The Birds at My Table by Darryl Jones. It asked hard questions about what we offer birds by feeding them at feeders. Sorenson asks equally hard questions about the environmental cost of producing seed feed for birds, in lieu of providing a native plant environment that seasonally provides a greater nutritional variety and greater benefits for birds and humans who enjoy them. Early on in the book, she asks you to think about packaged sunflower seeds, as any bird lover knows, a great favorite of wild birds. She points out the environmental costs of production, packaging, and shipping, but also asks the bird-loving reader to look deeper at the entire process from the start. Sunflower seeds are produced in vast monoculture fields. Readers of another of my recently reviewed books, Endangered and Disappearing Birds of the Midwest, should consider the fate of Prairie-Chickens and Meadowlarks when the prairies are planted with sunflowers. Are the seeds cultivated here grown in fields that have been sprayed with herbicides, fungicides, and pesticides? Do these chemicals affect the seeds produced, exposing the birds to these agents? Where does the field runoff go? Into a fresh water supply, affecting all the wildlife in the region? When it comes down to it, the tough question is: are our natural resources being damaged for artificially feeding birds? What would the alternative be? The best alternative is to enrich the native plant population, returning birds to a diet that better resembles nature. Sorenson gives you key insights into how to enrich your yard and make it a more natural haven for all birds, not just the ones that might have shown up at your feeder, who are often only a small fraction of birds actually in your yard.

It's important to note that this book is focused on the Eastern and Central US regions and doesn't contemplate plants native to the West or the Far North. I did find discussion of perennial plants and trees that still could thrive in the Seacoast area of New England, however. This book is a serious examination of native plants and trees benefitting birds and is not a quick read. For the serious birder, however, it is a goldmine. Sorenson will teach you how to map your yard, and then pick plants, trees, and vines that work well seasonally to support your local bird population. She also recommends water features that will provide a source of fresh water for your birds. For anyone who loves birds, this is a useful book. Even if you do not live in the targeted region, there are strategies to be learned here.

I received a Digital Review Copy of this book from Stackpole Books via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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