MADISON - Wisconsin bird lovers can learn how to attract and feed our feathered friends and keep them safe around their home at the PBS Wisconsin Garden and Landscape Expo Feb. 9-11 at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison.

Avian experts from across the state will offer tips on everything from gardening for hummingbirds and songbirds, to attracting Eastern Bluebirds and Purple Martins with nest boxes and martin houses, respectively, to easy home solutions to prevent birds from colliding with windows.

People taking these steps is important to help sustain and protect North American birds, which have lost 30% of their population since 1970. Scientists consider habitat loss the biggest reason for the decline.

“The great news is we can expand the number of birds we see right outside our door by adding trees, shrubs and native plants that feed and shelter birds,” says Jennifer Lazewski, Wisconsin Society for Ornithology executive director, a Master Gardener and a presenter at the Expo.

“Not all birds eat birdseed. Some eat only insects, including those colorful warblers we see each spring. Native plants provide replenishable and sustaining resources for all birds.

“Presentations and booth conversations can help people create great habitat for feeding baby birds, build a migratory rest stop oasis for birds, pick shrubs that feed berries to the birds, and plant a beautiful community garden that draws in birds for everyone to see.”

Expo attendees also can visit booths for SOS Save Our Songbirds, Wisconsin Society for Ornithology, Lake Michigan Bird Observatory, Bluebird Restoration Association of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Purple Martin Association and Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin, among others.

They’ll also find over 150 exhibitors selling seeds, plants, landscaping services, books, tools, lawn equipment and other merchandise for gardens and yards of all sizes.

Three sessions to prevent birds from flying into home windows near trees, flowers and feeders

Brenna Marsicek, who coordinates the Bird Collision Corps for Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance, formerly called Madison Audubon, will be presenting three sessions to help gardeners make sure the birds they attract do not collide with home windows. Bird-window collisions kill up to 1 billion birds a year in the U.S., nearly half of them at home windows.

“I love talking with gardeners because they're do-ers, open to new ideas, and always looking to make things better,” Marsicek says.

“Birds are a wonderful part of the gardening experience, and the webinars and resources the birding community offer help gardeners become more aware of related issues that impact birds, and ways they can take action to avoid or fix them.

“A backyard environment that is safe for birds is a mutually beneficial environment!”

The SOS Save Our Songbirds campaign, an initiative of the Wisconsin Bird Conservation Partnership, will provide window treatment kits at Marsicek’s “Preventing Bird-Window Collisions at Your Home” sessions, Friday, Feb. 9 at 5:15 p.m.; Saturday, Feb 10 at 3:45 p.m., and Sunday, Feb. 11 at 10:30 p.m.

Ticket information

Single-day tickets for the Garden & Landscape Expo cost $10 in advance and $12 at the door. Children 12 and under are admitted free. Two- and three-day passes are available at these advance retail outlets and online at wigardenexpo.com through Feb. 8. There is an additional charge for parking at the Alliant Energy Center.