This 10-lesson virtual course teaches agricultural professionals and farmers how to support beneficial birds and manage pest birds on farms. By learning how to assess the farm’s avian needs and opportunities, farms can be designed to provide for a diversity of beneficial birds. Start the course by entering your email address and watch as much as you like. Hop back in any time to continue learning. At the end, receive an emailed certificate of completion.
This publication provides guidance on installing and maintaining nesting structures for beneficial songbirds on farms. It details the requirements for successful nesting, such as food, cover, and water, and offers specific instructions on the types of nest boxes to use, their placement, and how to protect them from predators.
Particularly useful is a table on pages 5-6 called What and Where Beneficial Songbirds Eat and Nest. Download the table separately here:
What and Where Beneficial Songbirds Eat and Nest for Minnesota/Wisconsin
Download Nesting Structures References and Photo Credits
Help to take care of birds in the Midwest by providing native plants they prefer and they will better help control pests in the farm and garden. Use our free chart to get started. The plant chart contains about 160 native Midwest species that provide various benefits for birds. Information provided includes seasonal floral resources and other plant foods birds consume, plants that support the most caterpillars birds eat, and bird species use of plant genera.
The Trail highlights farms and landscapes that support beneficial songbirds and raptors with the installation of nest boxes and perches. Our goal is to inspire 10% of U.S. farms to join a Farmland Flyway Trail, having an average of 5 nest boxes and/or perches each, leading to 1 million structures.
This chart lays out a progression of activities that increasingly support biodiversity and the benefits it provides to the farm. Each farm has a unique set of circumstances and will begin at different places in the continuum, depending on its need and capacity for supporting nature. Whether the need is for building better soil health and clean water, ensuring more complete pollination and effective pest control, or enhancing habitat for wildlife, the farm can start with small steps or take big strides to integrate biodiversity.
