Save our Native Springfield-Oreland Songbirds

The Mission

We’re working to bring our beautiful native songbirds back to being a more common site in Oreland starting with this little oasis at Sandy Run Park.

All of the information here applies to anywhere in the region- especially suburban semi-rural areas. Tree Swallows have returned and are doing well over the years, and in fact if you noticed a drop in the mosquito swarms at the park and surrounding neighborhood, you can attribute much of that to these beautiful bug eating birds.

Eastern Bluebirds have made many attempts over the years and very occasionally have succeeded- but house sparrows make every season an uphill and literally and often deadly fight. A bird that could and should be common in our backyards is very rare here.

Why These Birds Matter

Simply put, native songbirds like bluebirds and tree swallows help keep our whole neighborhood's environment healthy, balanced and beautiful.

Tree Swallows eat their body weight in mosquitos gnats and flies every single hour! Imagine the impact that has when there are 10 to 20 of them buzzing around all summer long!

Bluebirds eat ticks, beetles, grubs, caterpillars, termites and other garden pests that when overpopulated threaten our health, damage our plants, trees and homes.

THE #1 PROBLEM: House Sparrows and Starlings

Those little brown “sparrows” you see everywhere are far from harmless. They’re House Sparrows -an invasive and destructive species (think lantern flies of the bird world) from Europe. They breed quickly and take over most birdhouses, vents, roofs, and sheds, and they push out or kill the bluebirds and swallows (adults, babies and eggs) that belong here. European Starlings cause the same damage - aggressive, cavity dominating, and devastating to native birds - especially woodpeckers and purple martins. This is the most important issue what we need YOUR help with!

Two Approaches to controlling House Sparrows and Starlings

• Passive Approach:  by just not letting them nest in your yard and not feeding them. Changing your bird seed does wonders to your budget and the birds- see below for tips!
• Active Approach:  actively- removing nests, eggs, trapping adults etc. This isn't for everyone but a combination of the two approaches is the best way to save our native songbirds. Active control may understandably sound harsh, but you can think of it like controlling other terribly damaging pests like mice and rats that most people don't give a second thought about controlling with traps and other methods- for good reason. The end result is a healthier, balanced and more diverse ecosystem for humans and animals.

Learn more from these excellent sources about controlling these pests

Cornell Nestt Watchhttps://nestwatch.org/learn/all-about-birdhouses/managing-house-sparrows-and-european-starlings/

The Bluebird BIBLE https://www.sialis.org/hosp/

North American Bluebird Society https://www.nabluebirdsociety.org/fact-sheets-plans/ Purple Martin Conservation Association https://www.purplemartin.org/

Other invasive species you may know:

Think of it similarly to how other damaging species we all know we should try to control and eradicate. Many of these are controlled by our insect eating native songbirds:

Insects / Pests

• Gypsy moth caterpillars: Defoliate entire forests, weakening and killing hardwood trees over time.
• Spotted lanternflies: Feed on sap of trees and crops, damaging vineyards, orchards, and timber.
• Stink bugs (brown marmorated stink bug): Agricultural pest that ruins fruits and crops and invades homes.
• Emerald ash borer: Kills ash trees rapidly, wiping out millions across North America.
• Asian longhorned beetle: Bores into hardwood trees like maple and birch, often leading to tree death.
• Hemlock woolly adelgid: Destroys hemlock forests, altering ecosystems and stream habitats.
• European corn borer: Major crop pest that reduces corn yields and damages other plants.
• Red imported fire ants: Aggressive and invasive, damaging crops, wildlife, and delivering painful stings

Mammals / Birds / Reptiles / Amphibians

• Norway rats: Spread disease, damage infrastructure, and outcompete native rodents.
• House mice: Contaminate food, spread disease, and thrive in human environments.
• Burmese pythons (Florida Everglades): Top predator causing severe declines in native mammals and birds.
• Feral hogs (wild boar): Destroy crops, tear up land, and spread disease to livestock and wildlife.
• Nutria (coypu): Large rodents that devastate wetlands by consuming and uprooting vegetation.

Plants

• Kudzu: Fast-growing vine that smothers trees, buildings, and native vegetation.
• Japanese knotweed: Aggressive plant that damages infrastructure and crowds out native species.
• Purple loosestrife: Takes over wetlands, reducing biodiversity and habitat quality.
• Garlic mustard: Releases chemicals that suppress native plants and disrupt forest ecosystems
• Tree-of-heaven: Fast-growing tree that outcompetes natives and supports spotted lanternflies.
• Cheatgrass: Increases wildfire frequency and disrupts native grassland ecosystems.

Feed Smarter! STOP buying "cheap" Wild Bird Mixes (hint- they aren't really cheaper)

House sparrows and other invasives LOVE this stuff. They will come in droves and drive out other desired birds. RODENTS like mice, rats and squirrels love wild bird seed too! The savings you think you are getting by buying cheap seeds will end up being extra cost by the constant refilling for unintended customers. And who wants rodents around the garden? Avoid anything with the little round yellow and tan-colored millet and corn in it.

REPLACE Wild Bird Mixes with the following healthy alternatives that house sparrows tend to avoid:

• Safflower - this pure white seed is almost the perfect bird seed. Many native birds love it - cardinals and rose breasted grosbeaks in particular. House sparrows typically avoid it. Another plus? SQUIRRELS and other rodents do not prefer this seed as it upsets their stomachs. They might once in a while try it but they won't eat it all day long like other seeds. Sunflower seeds are not terrible, but they do attract rodents and house sparrows - though less so than the horrible wild bird mixes. You really won't attract much more than safflower will.
• Niger/Thistle - this is a fantastic money saving seed. It attracts almost exclusively the handsome bright yellow American Goldfinch, House Finch and if you are lucky - indigo buntings as well. Don't let the purchase price scare you - a little goes a long way!
• Grape Jelly (and orange slices)- YES you read that right! You would be surprised the birds that adore simple cheap grape jelly from the cabinet. Catbirds, Robins, Mockingbirds, Red Bellied Woodpeckers and last but not least and especially- Baltimore Orioles! It may take some time but get a big orange oriole feeder and eventually you will see all of these birds devour it.
• Water! - Birds need clean water as much or even more than bird food. Adding a small or large water feature attracts as many birds as food does. In fact, you will see begin to birds that aren't attracted to seeds as a food source. It becomes especially important during droughts and freezing winters where water is scarce. Add a bird bath de-icer during the winter to help them all year round. Migrants like warblers and orioles love the sound of water.

RETHINK Spraying for Mosquitoes and Weeds

Sorry to sound preachy here, but this one is important. It makes sense, mosquitoes are annoying and dangerous in many cases. Spraying our yards may seem like the ideal solution but please reconsider and look at safer alternatives - there are some really safe and effective ones out there. THINK about it for a minute and ponder the following:

1. Why are the workers spraying your yard wearing suits and a mask? Those chemicals are no good for humans and wildlife.
2. What other insects are impacted? Mosquito sprays don't just kill mosquitoes. They kill and disrupt reproduction of so many beneficial insects and pollinators such as honeybees, lightning bugs/fireflies, caterpillars, monarch butterflies and larvae, moths and so many others. No bugs, no songbirds. No honeybees- no pollination of flowers, fruits and plants and veggies.
3. Toads, frogs and other amphibian wildlife depend on bugs too. These chemicals also harm amphibian and fish reproduction. So it works against us if toads aren't around to eat the mosquitoes.
4. Where do these chemicals go when it rains? Much of this poison gets into our soil, and into the streams and rivers impacting everything in and downstream including drinking water. No good.
5. One has to ask themselves could these poisons that do so much damage to our wildlife, what could the impact be to my family's health?
6. Take a few minutes and look up the chemicals used in these "so called safe" poisons. The information is public and nearly every chemical used drastically impacts wildlife - they publicly admit it in the small print.

Effective alternatives to Mosquito Poisons (in addition to increasing our bug eating songbirds)

• Mosquito buckets - this one is simple, safe and it flat out works! https://youtube.com/shorts/s3VQUQXhfaA?si=dmJp4vvDy8NFHKxW
• Natural sprays and Services use ingredients like garlic. Some newer service providers advertise all natural ingredients. Be careful and ask for the list of ingredients before you go with a service but there are some good ones out there. Make sure the ingredients don't kill beneficial insects.

Use alternatives for weed killers

One only has to look at recent billion-dollar lawsuit payouts with the ubiquitous poison Roundup to know that these poisons are likely not safe for wildlife or humans.

• Roundup also kills beneficial ground cover like clover (a favorite of honeybees).

Alternatives to Roundup?

• Action Hoe- This lesser known tool is remarkable at removing large areas of weeds quickly with very little time and effort: https://youtu.be/ZIC0cw5wWYI?si=c0h3dgHvxm5yMRK5
• Vinegar-based Solutions: Many ecologically safe and non-poisonous solutions are available in stores: https://youtube.com/shorts/uqnkeZh_DH8?si=2HZ8k8zv48Mcyreu
• Leave some patches of clover for the pollinators.
• Let a portion of your yard grow longer during the spring and summer for beneficial bugs and songbirds.
• If you have a very large property, try mowing and maintaining a "meadowscaped" area blazing around and through it for interesting focal points. These can be lovely and serve a great ecological purpose.
• Make a butterfly garden. Plant some milkweed patches. Monarch butterflies lay their eggs on milkweed exclusively.