1	Managing Backyards for Songbirds By: Jim Rivard, Houghton/Keweenaw/Ontonagon/Gogebic Conservation Districts
2	Source “Managing Michigan’s Wildlife. A landowner’s guide”. MUCC www.michigandnr.com/publications/pdfs/huntingwildlifehabitat/Landowners_Guide/Introduction/TOC.htm All About Birds – www.birds.cornell.edu
3	Habitat Components Have a plan!!! Food Water Cover
4	Things to Avoid Cats – 20,000,000 – 150,000,000 songbirds/year are killed by cats in Wisconsin alone. Large Lawns/Mowing – tall grass and native wildlfowers provide cover and food. Operating a typical lawnmover for one hour produces the same amount of pollution as driving a car 95 – 3400 miles.
5	Food Shrubs – Generally fruit bearing shrubs such as Mountain Ash (not a true ash), Hawthorne, Dogwood, Elderberry, Highbush Cranberry, Crabapple, Nannyberry, Serviceberry. Trees – Red Oak, Black Cherry, White Spruce, White Pine, Hemlock, White Cedar, Sugar Maple. Grasses – timothy, orchard grass, blue grass, clover (fix nitrogen). Prairie grasses ?? (big/little bluestem, indiangrass, switchgrass). Flowers – native wildflower mix (black eyed susan, columbine, aster, purple conflower, etc…)
6	Water Bird Bath – many commercial varieties. Ground level is best (cats aside). Small Pond – up to 2” deep; gravel on bottom for traction; perches ====è Center of Activity
7	Cover Trees – conifers provide cover year round. Shrubs – in addition to food, if planted densely will also provide cover. Tall grass/wildflowers. Native Varieties. Diversity!! Brush piles, dead trees, Fallen logs, old Christmas trees