Plant Native and Spring into Action for Birds!
By Ornithologist Ian Stewart and Environmental Advocate Robin Glazer
There’s nothing better than waking up and finding that spring is officially here. It’s more than a calendar date – it’s a sight, a smell, a feeling. Whether it’s the first rays of the morning sun increasing the humidity just a bit, the smell of soil after a long, soaking rain, or the sudden burst of early spring wildflowers. The collective feeling is enough to break Delaware’s landscapes – and humans – out of their winter slumber.
Then, like clockwork, the birds begin to show up. Gardens and parks that had only known the sound of footsteps and passing cars are filled with the cheerful songs of robins and bluebirds and the excited chattering of swallows. Colorful warblers flit among the trees in search of food and perched flycatchers zip back and forth to grab aerial prey.
What are most of these birds looking for? Insects. Insects are often described as ‘the little things that run the world’ because they are a key component of most food webs. Many insects are herbivores, at least in some stage of their life, getting their nutrients by eating what is needed most at each life phase. The energy stored in their bodies then becomes available to other invertebrates and vertebrates higher up the food chain – including birds. Soft insect larvae, like caterpillars, are prime food sources because they are easily digestible, even for small nestlings.
Unfortunately, problems near the bottom of the food web can have big effects higher up. Many of our insects are declining, which has consequences for anything that eats those insects. There are many longstanding reasons for this decline, including the widespread loss of habitat to development and the indiscriminate use of pesticides that kill all insects rather than just pests. A more recently recognized problem is non-native plants. These are plants that are native to other continents, primarily Europe or Asia, but were either accidentally or purposely introduced to Delaware’s landscapes through agriculture or horticulture. The reason they are a problem is that our North American insects did not evolve alongside them and will not lay eggs on non-natives. Those colorful Petunias in your local park may indeed attract butterflies which feed on their nectar, but crucially, they won’t lay eggs on them because these plants are from South America.
No eggs mean no caterpillars, which means no food for birds and other native wildlife.
Native Wildlife Need Native Plants
Now, more than ever, it is important to grow native plants, which are plants that were growing here naturally before European colonization. North American insects have a shared evolutionary history with native North American plants and have become specialized to only lay their eggs on certain host plants. Some of these plants support many insect species. Oaks, for example, are the host plant for literally hundreds of species of caterpillars!
Buy Local, Buy Native
DelNature’s annual spring Native Plant Sale, held the first weekend in May, coincides with the beginning of the peak of spring migration, when hundreds of species of birds are either arriving in Delaware to breed or passing through on their way north. In 2024, BirdCast estimated that 5.5 MILLION birds flew over Delaware during peak migration, only two days after the Native Plant Sale!
Most spring migrants, including flycatchers, thrushes, vireos and warblers, fly north at night and refuel during the day in natural areas, gardens, and yards. These tired birds face many threats during migration, but their most pressing concern is finding food. You can help both migrating and resident birds by planting a diversity of native plants in your yard. This will provide a variety of insects and will in turn attract a variety of birds. Planting native, providing fresh water, and reducing the size of your traditional grass lawns are great ways to roll out the red carpet for the newly arrived birds!
For more information on creating the perfect space of any size for native wildlife, check out these DelNature projects:
Clean Stream Champion and Great Schools, Clean Streams
Blog: Helping Birds One Window at a Time
Finally, if you’re looking to buy native plants, join us at the Native Plant Sale, May 2nd and 3rd at Coverdale Farm Preserve in Greenville, where beauty meets purpose! If you’re downstate, Abbott’s Mill Nature Center in Milford will have its annual Open House and Native Plant Sale on Saturday, May 3rd. Click here to view the enticing list of plants for sale!