Birds Thrive in Suburbs , Study Finds By Tom Banse Snohomish , Washington 12 June 2009 A recent review of North American bird life by the U . S . Interior Department and Audubon Society found steep declines in migratory bird species and forest - breeding birds over the past 40 years . Loss of habitat due to development is a leading reason . UW Professor John Marzluff inspects a pileated woodpecker prior to attaching a radio transmitterBut urbanization affects bird species unevenly , according to a long - term research project in the sprawling suburbs of Seattle , Washington . For the past 10 years , University of Washington Professor John Marzluff and his wildlife science students have surveyed birds on the city ' s urban fringes . They count birds , monitor nests , record behavior and catch and band birds to track survival rates . Marzluff says he became interested in how urban sprawl affects bird populations after moving to a house out in the hills north of Seattle . " Moving here , it was obvious what the major issue was for biodiversity in the western part of Washington . It wasn ' t forestry ; it was urbanization , " he explains . " So we immediately started to get some projects going . " Birds at home in the suburbs , tooAs if on cue , developers broke ground on two major subdivisions less than a kilometer from Marzluff ' s house . His team monitored bird activity before and after . They also established 25 other research plots across the changing landscape of suburbia . Mazluff ' s students record information about an evening grosbeakWhat he learned about where native songbirds thrive the best surprised him . " The diversity peaks in these moderately settled subdivisions , what we think of as sprawl . We expected that sprawl would be the worst thing for birds , but , in fact , it increases diversity . " He points out that open areas , forest remnants and human - built structures offering ledges and crevices are all close together here . He says that variety of habitat in the typical leafy suburb promotes the feathered riches . The finding jibes with what longtime neighborhood resident Milton Dick sees beyond his two hectare lot : more birds . " All kinds , " he says . " A lot of people feed ' em . A lot of people have bird feeders down here . The birds come back ; year after year you see ' em . " He adds that new housing construction doesn ' t seem to bother the wildlife . " The deer and the coyotes , they go all down through here . " Putting out the welcome mat for feathered friendsThe researchers are quick to add , there ' s good development and there ' s bad development . The choices people make can have a big impact on bird populations . Marzluff says property owners can help out by neglecting their yards a bit . " People typically like fancier - looking shrubs , and they like things to be very neat . Birds like native shrubs and messy things . So be messy ! Don ' t cut all the grass . Let some of it grow up and fall over so a junco can nest under it . The native ferns - and salmonberry especially - is an important species . " Marzluff also counsels tolerance for wild coyotes and bobcats . Their presence limits where house cats can safely roam , which is a good thing as far as native birds are concerned . Free - roaming cats kill millions of birds each year . The Wilson ' s warbler is in sharp decline due to suburban sprawlOn the other hand , Marzluff has nothing but scorn for broad , perfectly trimmed lawns . He calls these subdivisions " Scrapervilles , " because the land has been scraped clean of wild habitat . His decade - long tracking study found it makes a big difference when developers set aside even a little bit of forest , space the houses , maybe create a pond . The National Science Foundation paid most of the bill for the first decade of this suburban bird tracking study . The science agency also funds parallel studies in the U . S . states of Arizona , Ohio and Maryland . Researcher John Marzluff , now 50 years old , hopes to keep the project going for the rest of his professional career , which could be another 20 years . Banse reportDownload ( MP 3 )