Make your home more bird-friendly and support wildlife where you live, whether you have a backyard, a small patio, or just a few native plants in containers. Even small actions can create meaningful habitat for birds and pollinators. Start small. Choose one or two ideas below that feel doable, and build from there over time.
Where you place your bird feeder matters. Bird feeder placement should (1) allow you to easily enjoy watching birds from your home or patio and (2) help birds feed safely.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology provide a guide on Where to Put Your Bird Feeder. A quick summary:
Place feeders either within 3 feet of a window or more than 30 feet away to reduce window collisions
Keep feeders about 10 feet from shrubs or trees to provide cover while avoiding ambush by cats
Place hummingbird feeders in shade and protected from wind
Birds may take a few days to discover a new feeder, so be patient.
Clean feeders regularly to keep birds safe:
Seed/suet feeders: every 2 weeks to prevent spread of diseases
Hummingbird feeders: every 1–2 days
sugar water spoils fast in Arizona's hot climates and can harbor harmful bacteria or mold that cause fatal infections in hummingbirds
clean with hydrogen peroxide or diluted vinegar (9:1 water to vinegar) instead of soap
For hummingbird feeders:
Mix 1 part white sugar with 4 parts water
Store leftover sugar water in a sealed glass jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks
Never use red dye, honey, molasses, or artificial sweeteners
Opt for glass feeders which are better for the health of the birds and last longer than plastic feeders
Birds cannot see glass and may collide with windows while trying to fly into reflections of sky or trees. Up to 1 billion birds die from window collisions annually in the U.S.
Simple ways to make glass windows visible to prevent collisions:
Exterior screens or mesh
Evenly-spaced vertical cords outside of your window (Acopian BirdSavers kit or make your own)
Privacy vinyl or patterned film
Bird-friendly decals or window marker systems (like Feather Friendly or Window Alert)
Painted designs using acrylic paint
We love our feline friends, but outdoor cats are one of the leading human-related causes of bird mortality. Free-roaming cats kill 1.3–4 billion birds each year in the U.S. alone.
Keeping cats indoors helps protect birds while also keeping cats safer from traffic, predators, disease, and extreme heat.
If your cat enjoys spending time outside, consider a supervised outdoor enclosure (“catio”) or leash training. These options allow cats to enjoy the outdoors safely while helping protect wildlife.
Native plants are one of the best ways to support birds long-term. They provide food, shelter, and nesting materials that local bird species evolved with.
Native plants also require less water and maintenance once established. They provide more shades and colorful blooms and may help cut down your water bill compared to conventional lawns.
Helpful resources to help grow native plants around your home:
Native plants can be a little tricky to find in Yuma. The garden sections at home improvement and big box stores generally sell introduced species, not native plants. Where to find native plants:
Yuma Native Plant Society. Contact them or visit their native plant sale at the Yuma Home & Garden Show (typically mid-January at the Yuma Civic and Convention Center).
Yuma Nursery Supply. We are not affiliated with them but had some luck finding jojoba and brittlebush there.
A google search of a specific native plant may show online nurseries that can ship its seeds, seedlings, or cuttings to you.
Examples of great native plants for the Yuma region:
Clean water is essential in the desert Southwest for birds and wildlife for drinking and bathing.
Bird baths, shallow dishes, garden drippers or small fountains can help support local wildlife and may attract a surprising diversity of birds.
To help prevent bird diseases and mosquitoes:
Change water every 2–3 days
Clean bird baths weekly with diluted vinegar (9 parts water + 1 part vinegar), not soaps or harsh chemicals which damage bird feathers
Add an electric pump, as moving water helps reduce mosquito eggs laying and algae buildup
Create habitat with a little less yard work. A “messier” yard can actually be great for birds while requiring less maintenance from you:
Fallen leaves enrich soil and create places for birds to forage
Dead flower stalks and seed heads provide food
Small brush piles offer shelter and nesting material
Untrimmed palm skirts provide safe nesting habitat for some bird species
Avoid heavy yard cleanup and tree pruning during nesting season (Feb 1–Aug 31 in Arizona).
Avoid using pesticides and herbicides:
Chemicals in pesticides and herbicides can harm birds, pollinators, pets, other wildlife and human directly or through the food chain
Opt for organic products that break down quickly (insecticidal soap, Bt, pyrethrum)
Be especially cautious with rodent pest treatments, which are often harmful for birds:
Avoid sticky traps (glue boards). While intended for rodents, they frequently trap innocent non-targets, like birds, bats, lizards, and snakes. Trapped animals suffer from prolonged dehydration, starvation, or injuries sustained from attempting to escape.
Never use second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides, like Brodifacoum or Bromadiolone (in brand names like d-Con, Hot Shot, Generation, Talon, and Havoc). These widely-used poisons cause fatal secondary poisoning in birds of prey like owls and hawks after they consume poisoned rodents.
If rodent control is necessary, choose or request for safer alternatives such as:
Non-toxic dehydrating baits (such as RatX or MouseX)
First-generation multi-feed baits (like Warfarin or Diphacinone) placed in tamper-resistant bait stations
Snap traps placed safely indoors
Wildlife-friendly alternatives can also help naturally reduce pests:
Mosquito bucket traps that are effective and safe
Native plants that support natural predators of insect pests
Creating healthy habitats for wildlife often help control pests naturally. Birds and other wildlife consume large numbers of insects, mosquitoes, caterpillars, and rodents as part of a balanced ecosystem.
Environmentally friendly habits often spread through communities when people talk to neighbors, family and friends about why they decided to, say, install solar panels, opt for an electric car or make their home bird-friendly. Bird-friendly spaces can grow one yard, neighborhood, and community at a time when people share ideas.
You can talk to neighbors about growing native plants, show them your backyard bird photos and encourage simple actions to inspire more people to support birds and wildlife in their own spaces.
Having a bird-friendly home is cool, so feel free to brag a little! The National Audubon Society offers a Plants for Birds yard sign that can share your success and help spark the conversation with others.
Your backyard observations can help real science. Submitting bird observations in your backyard or neighborhood to citizen science platforms like eBirds or iNaturalist help researchers study bird populations, migration, and conservation needs around the world. Do it as regularly as you'd like or just...
Participate in the annual Great Backyard Bird Count. Each February, you can join bird lovers around the world in the event by:
Spend at least 15 minutes watching birds anywhere you like (your backyard, a local park, a neighbor's bird feeder, a neighborhood walk or a favorite birding location)
Identify and count the birds you see
Submit your observations using eBird
Find out when the next Great Backyard Bird Count is on our Event page under "Community Science Events".
Helping birds does not require perfection or a complete lifestyle change overnight. Even a few small actions can create meaningful habitat and make the world a little safer for birds and other wildlife around you. Start with what feels realistic, keep learning as you go, and enjoy the process of bringing more nature closer to home. 😊