Everything you need to imagine and create a bird haven in your yard. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

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Cornell Lab eNews

March 22, 2026

Spring is here 😲 and new life is stirring in forests and gardens. Now is a great time to start making your outside spaces into bird beacons in the coming months.

Rufous Hummingbird and bleeding hearts by Frédérick Lelièvre / Macaulay Library.

Gardening for Birds: Start Here

The first step to creating a garden is often the hardest. So we built a site filled with a wheelbarrow-load of expert advice! Garden for Birds has videos, quick-start guides, and more to help you make a native garden plan, or get the most out of your already established landscape. Dig in to Garden for Birds. (And then start diggin'! 😉)

Before-and-After Inspiration: Who doesn't love a good reveal? Take a look at this brief montage of stunning landscape makeovers by Garden for Birds participants last year.

Tap or click to reveal the mystery species

Mystery bird with caterpillar on an ash tree by Marky Mutchler / Macaulay Library.

What Species Is This?

One of the best ways to attract migrating songbirds to your yard is to make sure there are native plants hosting copious caterpillars. Do you know the name of this common bird that will soon be lunching on larvae across the U.S.? (Hint: this species was recently split in two, prompting a slight name change.) Check your answer.

Tap or click to read the article about gardening with native plants

Illustration by Charlotte Holden.

What Does "Native Plants" Mean to You?

Which plants attract birds best? It depends on where you live. Hear from our expert ecologists about putting the right plants in the right places. We've even broken it down into 6 regional sections to get you started with some geographically specific ideas.

Bird News and Resources

Watch: Archived Webinar: Designing Gardens for Birds. Sit back, relax, and let garden-design experts Zoe and Heather Evans guide you through the process of creating a native plant yard that nurtures both people and birds.

Sneak Peek: The Hidden World of Nests and Eggs, coming April 2. Watch a preview of our new Bird Academy course, designed for anyone interested in how birds come to life.

Attend a Bird Festival: Festivals are a great way to enjoy birds and meet like-minded people. See our bird festival directory.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is a membership institution dedicated to interpreting and conserving the earth’s biological diversity through research, education, and citizen science focused on birds.

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