The Audubon Society Guide to Attracting Birds: Creating Natural Habitats for Properties Large and Small
March 16, 2008
“Improving the quality of land for wildlife is the single most constructive step that anyone can take to assist wild bird populations. Happily, it is well within almost everyone’s capability to improve bird habitats by providing important food and cover plants. Through this book, I will assist caring landowners and managers of properties ranging in size from urban balconies and suburban backyards to larger properties such as country estates, schoolyards, cemeteries, corporate parks, airports, golf courses, wildlife refuges, and parklands of all sizes. Managers of agricultural land, greenways, and vacant lots alike will find inspiration and techniques within these pages that will help them carry out the urgent and satisfying work of improving land for wild birds.”–from the Introduction
In a book long awaited by landscapers, birders, gardeners, and naturalists, Stephen W. Kress provides a practical, comprehensive, and thoroughly illustrated guide to attracting birds to any property, be it a small patch of land in the city or a showplace countryside garden, a median strip or an expansive woodlot, a commercial building or a community park. In Kress’s view, the best way to attract birds is to enrich habitats by improving vegetation, natural foods, water supplies, and nest sites.
Drawing on decades of experience, Kress offers a remarkable variety of techniques and resources for habitat improvement. In this book, he
* addresses the special needs of managers of large properties, giving them a toolbox of strategies for habitat restoration;
* organizes his suggestions by habitat type, such as forest, grasslands, and shrublands;
* offers advice for selecting native plants by region;
* details the importance of wetland conservation;
* discusses the safe use of pesticides and fertilizers;
* provides useful information on nesting structures and feeding stations; and
* lists plant vendors and print and online resources for further study.
Throughout, Kress emphasizes responsible environmental stewardship. The Audubon Society Guide to Attracting Birds will help readers reach their goal of designing their own landscapes for the benefit of wild birds.
Customer Review: It’s all here
Very thorough reference for anyone looking to provide a backyard habitat for local birds. Things people as individuals can do. Plantings, feeds, birdhouses, it’s all here. Writig style clear and consise.
Customer Review: The Backyard and Beyond for Birds
What I love most about this book is that it combines everything that a homeowner, landowner, bird watcher needs to attract birds to their surroundings. After collecting many different books on bird feeding, gardening for birds, landscaping for birds and managing land for birds, I am thrilled to be able to recommend a book that “has-it-all”.
With chapters that address forest, grassland and shrubland management, a landowner will find thorough advice on how to look at their property and the larger surrounding landscape in terms of bird habitat. Kress does not ignore the homeowner’s interest in creating a backyard sanctuary for birds either. Highlights include a wonderful list of bird attracting perennials and annuals, a plethora of bird feeder designs, and a chapter on healthy habits to exercise in your yard and neighborhood.
The book has plant, tree and shrub recommendations by region for the entire United States complimented simply by pen & ink drawings. The drawings are simple and meant to give the reader a visual of the leaves, fruits and general shape of the plant. This guide should not be used as a field guide to identifying plants, trees, shrubs or birds. This book is a “guide to attracting birds” and should not be used in place of a true field guide to birds or plants. The lengthy resource list in the appendix will help readers find those field guides needed for identification and much more.
As a conservation educator, I recommend this book for bird enthusiasts, naturalists, landowners and gardeners. It connects our love of birds with our passion for the land while encouraging responsible stewardship of the natural world around us. Buy from here…
