Celebrating Homes for Birds Week

Homes for Birds Week is dedicated to the feathered friends who grace our skies and gardens. This week is all about understanding, appreciating, and creating safe habitats for birds. Find out more about Homes for Birds Week and how you can help below.

What is Homes for Birds Week?

Homes for Birds Week is a week dedicated to raising awareness of the importance for conserving and creating bird-friendly environments and habitats. It takes place during the second full week in February every year.

The Importance of Helping Birds

Birds come in an astonishing variety of sizes, colors, and species, each with its unique habits and needs. From small hummingbirds flitting about in search of nectar, to the majestic eagle soaring high in the sky, birds play crucial roles in our environment. They help in pollination, seed dispersal, and pest control, maintaining the delicate balance of our ecosystems. 

With urbanization and deforestation on the rise, birds are losing their natural habitats at an alarming rate, impacting bird populations and disrupting the ecological balance. 

The Invention of Nesting Boxes

A solution for the reduced availability of bird habitat is the installation of nesting boxes. Modern bird nesting boxes were created by Charles Waterton, a pioneering English naturalist and conservationist of the 19th century. Wanting to provide safe breeding places for birds at a time when their natural habitats were increasingly under threat from industrialization and land development, Waterton constructed nesting boxes on his estate, Walton Hall, where he famously established one of the world's first nature reserves. This initiative not only provided sanctuary for birds but also laid the groundwork for modern wildlife conservation practices. 

How To Get Involved With Homes for Birds Week

Create a Bird-Friendly Garden

Plant native plants in your garden to provide natural food sources, shelter, and nesting sites for birds. Installing bird feeders and birdbaths will help to make your garden more inviting to our feathered friends. Check out our ideas for creating a hummingbird-friendly garden to invite these helpful pollinators into your garden.

Keep Cats Indoors

Cats are natural predators of birds. By keeping your cats indoors, especially during the nesting season, you can help reduce the risk to local bird populations. If you have an outdoors cat, it's probably best not to encourage birds to visit your garden.

Avoid Using Pesticides

Pesticides can be toxic to birds and other wildlife, so we recommend avoiding using any pesticides in your garden.

Raise Awareness

Share your knowledge about birds and their habitats with friends, family, and the wider community. Education is a powerful tool in conservation and the more we talk about the needs of birds, the more we can help them.

Homes for Birds Week is a call to action. It reminds us of our responsibility to coexist with nature harmoniously. By taking small steps towards creating bird-friendly environments, we contribute to a larger global effort to preserve and protect our natural world. Shop our Birds Collection to show off your love for your favorite feathered friends and we'll fund the planting of trees, plus make a donation to ecological nonprofits on your behalf.