While bees and butterflies often take the spotlight as pollinators, birds offer a distinctive perspective on pollination.  These feathered creatures have unique characteristics and behaviors that make them valuable pollinators. As they visit flowers searching for nectar, birds inadvertently transfer pollen from one flower to another, facilitating plant reproduction. 

Birds, such as hummingbirds, sunbirds, and honeyeaters, possess specialized adaptations that enable them to access nectar hidden deep within flowers. Their long beaks or tongues can reach into flower tubes, ensuring successful pollination for many plant species. In addition, birds have the ability to cover vast distances, making them effective pollinators across various habitats, including forests, meadows, and even urban areas.

Pollinator Week serves as a crucial reminder of the urgent need to protect and restore habitats for our feathered friends. By focusing on birds as pollinators, we gain a deeper understanding of their importance in maintaining plant diversity and ecosystem health. Preserving and creating suitable habitat for birds means providing food sources, nesting sites, and sheltering areas.

This week, let us take a moment to celebrate the remarkable birds that contribute to pollination and remind ourselves of the importance of preserving and creating suitable habitats for these incredible creatures. Remember, Pollinator Week is not just a time for celebration; it's a call to action!

You can also get involved and take action by buying organic, planting a pollinator garden or getting involved in community science. Check out Audubon's Plants for Birds resources, as native plants help support birds thorughout the year! With Audubon's Native Plant Database, you can find the best plants for the birds in your area. Growing bird-friendly plants will attract and protect the birds you love while making your space beautiful, easy to care for, and better for the environment.  If you are in Michigan you can also participate in the MI Birds, free family-friendly Pollinator week celebration and Community BioBlitz on Saturday, June 24 at the Oudolf Garden Detroit from 9:30am – 12pm. Enjoy informative displays and children’s activities in the garden. Learn more during guided bioblitz walks with area experts! Be a part of citizen science in a beautiful public garden—a natural setting in the heart of Belle Isle, Detroit. You can RSVP here.

So, let's rally together to protect our avian pollinator friends. Embrace this opportunity to engage, educate, and empower yourself and others to join the movement as we work towards a future that cherishes and safeguards our remarkable pollinators, including our invaluable avian friends.

Authored by Esther Obire, Audubon Great Lakes Communications Intern at UIC Freshwater Lab.