Supporting Wildlife by Building Bird Houses

Farmers and forest landowners can take many steps to support wildlife on their lands, from planting native trees and wildflowers to installing structures such as bird houses. 

Last month, Emaly Quintana, a pineapple grower and one of the participants in our forestry program in Puerto Rico, presented at an educational workshop hosted by Bosques Alimentarios de Puerto Rico (BOAPR) and GreenLatinos. She introduced the topics of biodiversity and explained how farmers can support wildlife, including birds. 

After she started cultivating pineapples at her farm in San Sebastián, Puerto Rico, Emaly began noticing fewer birds – leading her to take action. 

“There were some birds I loved [at the farm], and after I started using that land [to farm], I didn't necessarily see them in such large numbers as often as I did when I first arrived there,” Emaly said. “We started implementing some practices so that the pineapple and the birds, which are the most prevalent on my farm, could coexist.

She also showed some examples of bird houses and explained the key elements that birds need as part of their habitat, including food, water, shelter, and a safe place to nest. 

Emaly recommended that participants familiarize themselves with the wildlife that lives near their homes and look for ways to improve their habitat and emphasized the importance of habitat connectivity – creating habitat corridors that enable wildlife to safely move between different areas. 

Later in the workshop, the participants gained hands-on experience and helped to improve the local habitat by working together to build a bird house for woodpeckers. One of our forestry program participants, Manuel Baez of Finca Gaia, installed it on a tree! 

Structures for Wildlife is an NRCS Conservation Practice. If you would like to implement this practice or learn more about building and installing bird houses, contact us at info@asekia.org.