World Migratory Bird Day
In 2025, World Migratory Bird Day will be celebrated on May 10 in the spring and October 11 in fall. The conservation theme this year is Shared Spaces: Creating Bird-Friendly Cities and Communities. This year’s theme promotes the importance of a healthy coexistence between people and birds by focusing on creating bird-friendly cities and communities.
Bird friendly practices include creating healthy habitats, reducing bird collisions with buildings and glass, reducing pollution, and providing ample food sources for birds. No matter what type of community you live in, YOU can help birds!
How can you help birds?
- Plant native species of trees, shrubs, wildflowers, and grasses: native plants provide food for native birds, pollinators, and other beneficial insects.
- Make your home or other building safer for birds by taking steps to treat your windows to reduce building collisions. Learn how to make your home safer for birds with our Bird Collision Reduction Toolkits!
- Turn off lights between dawn and dusk, especially during fall and spring migration seasons.
- Leave your leaves alone as insects (aka bird food!) rely on the habitat fallen leaves provide, especially over the winter months. Dead leaves also decompose creating compost that can improve soil structure structure
Something temporarily or permanently constructed, built, or placed; and constructed of natural or manufactured parts including, but not limited to, a building, shed, cabin, porch, bridge, walkway, stair steps, sign, landing, platform, dock, rack, fence, telecommunication device, antennae, fish cleaning table, satellite dish/mount, or well head.
Learn more about structure and fertility. - If you own a rural property, encourage fencerows, un-mowed ditches, and natural areas to help feed and provide habitat for birds.
- If you live in an apartment, set out a balcony pot of native plants to help feed insects that help feed birds.
- Discontinue using pesticides and herbicides, which kill insects and the plants that many birds rely on for food.
- Protect and restore habitats such as woodlands, wetlands, and native meadows where birds live and breed.
- Grab a pair of binoculars and get outside to enjoy the birds in your area. You can even participate in bird monitoring programs like eBird or Christmas Bird Counts.
- Visit one of the 30 Urban Bird Treaty Cities in the U.S. and see how communities are coming together on a wide range of bird conservation, science, education, and recreational activities.
Buy a Federal Duck Stamp! By purchasing a Federal Duck Stamp, you’re making a direct impact on the future of America’s wetlands, ensuring they remain healthy and thriving for generations to come. It’s one of the easiest and most effective ways to support wildlife conservation.
- Take pride in the important contribution you are making to birds in your community and tell others about your passion for conservation!
Join the Global Effort!
We hope that you’ll join us in the international effort to celebrate “Shared Spaces: Creating Bird Friendly Cities and Communities.” There are many ways that you can participate in events that celebrate birds and all the joy they bring to us, including virtual webinars, birding events, and spring festivals. Find what kinds of events are happening in your area.
We will continue to post opportunities here with events that our very own U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service offices are hosting:
- May 15, 2025 - TheNational Conservation Training Center (West Virginia). Author Tim Beatley will lead a public lecture called "Creating Bird-Friendly Cities and Communities." In his book The Bird-Friendly City, Timothy Beatley, a longtime advocate for intertwining the built and natural environments, takes readers on a global tour of cities that are reinventing the status quo with birds in mind. The National Conservation Training Center Conservation Lectures are free and open to the public, all are welcome. This lecture will also be recorded and available online May 22 at 2:00 pm ET https://www.youtube.com/@usfws/streams
