“My mother fed birds in our backyard, which backed up to a nice woodland,” Greenfield resident Pat Serrentino, a lifelong bird observer, said.

Serrentino grew up in the Boston suburb of Reading, and later earned biology degrees. She recently offered tips as the featured speaker presenting on the topic of making home yards hospitable to feathered friends. Her talk, held at the Second Congregational Church, was part of a series put together by Greening Greenfield with the aim of supporting avian life. Serrentino shared many ways to attract birds and help keep them safe; some strategies are straightforward – like providing nutrition, water, and shelter – but even the simplest steps involve nuance.

Birds benefit from native plants that provide fruits and nuts, and enjoy supplemental foods provided by humans. “I feed birds in our yard from September through May,” said Serrentino, emphasizing that such offerings benefit both winged locals and migratory species. Native plants encourage bird health for a number of reasons, including that they attract native insects that provide birds with smorgasbords.

Providing water can be limited to three seasons, or occur year-round with a heating unit. “Beware of energy sucking heaters, though,” said Serrentino. “My husband and I learned that lesson the hard way.” It’s important to keep bird baths clean, yet unnecessary to install anything pricey. “The most successful birdbath at our house is a ceramic basin originally designed to hold a plant pot. Nothing fancy, but it does the trick better than other things we’ve tried.”

For shelter, one can erect birdhouses, and reliable shelter can be achieved by providing natural forms of cover, like bushes, shrubs, and trees. Birds benefit from brush piles and leaves left on the ground, which bring opportunities for foraging and camouflage. Here’s a reality check, though: (non-native) house sparrows pose a danger to various local species. “They’re incredibly aggressive,” warned Serrentino. “They destroy bluebird nests and kill the babies. But you can keep house sparrows out by cutting the hole in a nest box small enough so the sparrows don’t fit.” Other typical nesting box residents include black-capped chickadees and house wrens.

Some bird-friendly approaches require lifestyle shifts. For those accustomed to gardening or landscaping using certain kinds of chemicals, it can be hard to imagine reducing or eliminating pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides. Yet it’s important to note that such substances factor into the demise of approximately 67 million birds in the U.S. each year. These chemicals fall into three categories: rodenticides, insecticides, and herbicides. There are, however, alternatives, which we’ll touch on shortly.

Serrentino listed the top four factors leading to human-influenced avian deaths: habitat loss, window strikes, cats, and collisions with vehicles. One topic in particular can ruffle feathers, so to speak, but let’s get right to it, dear readers, in the interest of helping birds.

Cat lovers who give felines free rein may bristle at the suggestion that their furry darlings should stay indoors, yet according to Serrentino, it’s crucial to recognize how many birds perish between the paws or jaws of neighborhood kitties: “We have to talk about the fact that (domesticated) cats kill between 1.5 and 3.7 billion birds per year.” She offered potential solutions, including some that don’t require keeping cats exclusively indoors. Putting a belled collar on a cat can help blow their cover while they’re stalking feathered prey; installing fencing around bird feeders can lend birds just enough of an edge while a cat makes their leap. Lastly, Serrentino suggested establishing a ”catio” – a screened-in patio for cats that allows for access to fresh air and sunlight without allowing them to roam freely.

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It can seem daunting to shift long-held domestic patterns, but Serrentino urged her audience to consider alternatives. Serrentino illuminated the risk to birds posed by chemicals, and suggested that people obviate the need for rodenticides by keeping pet food indoors and making sure rats and other rodents can’t access compost bins. When it comes to insects plaguing homegrown crops, gardeners can reach for insecticidal soap, diatomaceous earth, and other organic chemicals. Pulling weeds by hand rather than poisoning them can be better for everyone. “And we can reconsider our relationship with bugs,” said Serrentino. “I learned that picking beetles off by hand isn’t that hard, and it’s better than spraying.”

When it comes to window strikes, between 365 million and one billion birds die from collisions with glass in the U.S. each year, according to a Smithsonian study. “Birds strike windows on homes, low-rise, and high-rise buildings,” said Serrentino, “because they perceive reflected images as literal objects. This happens mostly during daylight hours, especially just before dawn, and during periods of migration.” When a strike happens, the bird can die instantly, or they’re knocked out but survive, or they shake it off and fly away. Some who fly away may die later of injuries, though. Homeowners can erect screens, or make glass easier to perceive by affixing material on the outside that’s visible from at least 10 feet away, like tape, strings, or netting. Certain types of glass make for a lower level of reflection.

Serrentino asked audience members to think of neighborhoods and yards as being connected to bigger pictures: “Birds fly overhead, wondering, ‘Where can I safely land? Where can I make a nest, eat, and live?’ They’re looking for places to be safe,” she said.

Eveline MacDougall is the author of “Fiery Hope” and an artist, musician, and mom. To contact her: eveline@amandlachorus.org.