Milwaukee County Zoo’s new Backyard Bird Walk teaches conservation
Milwaukee County Zoo keepers, curators and administrators have a goal in mind when people come to the zoo: They want visitors to empathize with the animals they see so they will be inspired to learn more about what they can do to help animal conservation efforts.
Most of those animals, from elephants and giraffes to penguins and flamingoes, are not native to Wisconsin, so people’s ability to help their survival is limited to things like spreading awareness and giving money to animal conservation organizations.
But a new exhibit, scheduled to open Aug. 1 in the zoo’s Northwestern Mutual Family Farm area, will focus on how people can help animals Wisconsinites are well acquainted with — the birds that live in their backyards.
Building the Backyard Bird Walk
The Backyard Bird Walk exhibit has been a passion project of aviary curator Alex Waier since he went to a 2018 conference that focused on zoos’ roles in educating people about what they can do to help migratory songbirds, such as warblers, robins and catbirds native to Wisconsin.
“A lot of the things that hurt these birds are things that people here can have more control over,” said Waier. “A lot of the dangers to birds in Wisconsin are things like windows they fly into that people can mitigate by adding window fixtures. And their habitats are being destroyed by prairies being developed and wetlands being drained, but people can help by adding birdhouses, bird feeders and native plants to their yards.”
Waier, who also curates the zoo’s Family Farm, said the area behind the dairy barn was not being used, and he thought it would be a perfect place to set up an educational oasis for people to learn about bird conservation.
The project wasn’t part of the zoo’s budget, so Waier took advantage of another program he has coordinated at the zoo since a Boy Scout asked him 15 years ago for a project he could do to earn his Eagle Scout ranking.
“Scouts reach out to us to ask us for service projects they can do, and I keep a list of things keepers and curators would like done for their areas,” said Waier. “We’ve had scouts make hammocks for bears, lean-tos for shade in the pony ride area, a goat climbing structure — all kinds of things.”
So in 2019, Boy Scouts broke ground on the backyard bird exhibit by building a gravel pathway. After getting sidetracked by the pandemic, the Scouts have helped Waier make multiple other elements in the exhibit, including birdhouses, pergolas, a “bug motel” and picnic tables.
Although there are still a few pieces Waier would like to add, such as a water element and a fence, the exhibit is in good shape to open to the public on Aug. 1.
What’s in the exhibit?
As people walk through the exhibit, they will encounter several ways in which they can help Wisconsin’s backyard birds. Signs will include QR codes that will direct visitors to the zoo’s website, where they can learn more information about building, buying, planting or installing each of the bird conservation methods.
- Birdhouses: There are several different birdhouses on display, each of them meant to house a different type of bird. Waier said the differences matter. For example, robins build nests on platforms, so a proper robin nest is an open structure with a platform rather than a closed house for a bird to enter through a hole. And if you put a more traditional birdhouse in your yard, the size of the hole matters. “If you make the hole like a half-inch too big, you run the risk of inviting non-native species to nest instead of Wisconsin native birds,” said Waier.
- Birdfeeders: Just like with the birdhouses, species of birds are attracted to specific types of feeders and particular types of food. The exhibit includes several examples.
- Native plants: Waier said it’s also important to grow native plants that attract native insects for birds to feed on. Several native fruit trees and flowers have been planted in the exhibit. In this area, Waier plans to cultivate half of the area to provide a more manicured backyard look, while the other half will grow more wild. Additionally, Boy Scouts built a bug motel that some people might see as a more attractive addition to their yards than a brush pile, which is also an excellent “bug motel.” “I want people to see that, no matter what their taste is in what their yard looks like, they can support backyard birds,” said Waier.
- Bird-friendly windows: Waier said there are a number of ways to prevent birds from flying into windows — from adding inexpensive decals to installing specialized window treatments. A display includes a number of examples.
A conservation-focused oasis
Waier likes the exhibit’s out-of-the-way location because he’s designed it to be an oasis; that’s why there are a few Eagle Scout-built picnic tables in the area.
“I want people to be able to chill out in a place that’s off the beaten path and away from the crowds,” said Waier. “It’s a place to just relax and learn.”
The chill atmosphere of the exhibit is also meant to replicate the oasis that people hopefully find in their own backyards as they build them to be friendlier to native birds.
“Doing the right thing for conservation can sometimes seem so complicated,” said Waier. “But this doesn’t have to be hugely involved. Just planting some native species, maybe a few houses or feeders. There are a lot of people who enjoy birdwatching. But it’s also not hard to try to protect them, too.”
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