Help birds and science
What do birds eat? We know that insects make up most of the diet of nesting birds, but if we want to plan landscapes for birds, we need to know which specific insects they eat.
Doug Tallamy, an entomologist at the University of Delaware, has launched a national project to help nail down which birds eat which insects. Simply take digital photos of birds carrying insects, spiders or crustaceans in their beaks (not as hard as it sounds, birds often pause before heading back to their nest). Upload the photos to a website (whatdobirdseat.com), and fill out a short form.
"We can't manage habitat for breeding birds without knowing what they eat while reproducing," notes Tallamy, author of the hugely popular "Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens."
He and his graduate students already are compiling data and Tallamy plans to make all the information public.
Val Cunningham
