The Piedmont provides valuable nesting, migration, and wintering habitat for birds that is scarce in other parts of their ranges. Providing adequate and available feeding, breeding, and stop-over habitat is critical to the continued survival of numerous bird species, many of which are migrating along the Great Eastern Flyway, from as far as South America or the Arctic. Over 140 species of birds breed in the mid-Atlantic Piedmont. But populations of many species have declined in recent decades, largely because of habitat loss and degradation.

Landowners can help a variety of birds to thrive by enhancing areas of habitat on their property. PEC recently paired with American Bird Conservancy to produce a guide called "Managing Land in the Piedmont of Virginia for the Benefit of Birds and Other Wildlife." This free, full-color booklet is available from PEC (please call 540.347.2334 to obtain a hard copy, or click here to download (pdf, 2MB)) and considers six different kinds of habitats used by birds: agricultural land, grasslands, shrublands, forests, wetlands and developed areas. If you have any questions about conservation of bird habitat, please call Maggie MacQuilliam at 540-347-2334 ext. 29.

There will be a workshop focusing on the protection of bird habitat at PEC's annual meeting on September 13th. Click here to register for this event.