Farmers can also consider birds their allies in pest management because they provide free pest control services by feeding huge quantities of insects to their voracious young. Many farmers manage the land surrounding their fields for timber. Mature stands of forest are good for some bird species, such as thrushes, vireos, and warblers, and areas that are harvested for timber are productive for other birds, such as bluebirds, woodpeckers, nuthatches, titmice, and chickadees. These birds are cavity-nesters and use large, dead snags left after timber harvest for nesting sites. As cut areas begin to regrow, new saplings provide nest sites for many cup-nesting species, like grosbeaks and chats.
Farmers also can help birds by allowing biologists access to their land for bird research.
The more knowledge that is gained, the more effectively these animals can be protected and conserved. Conservation efforts do not have to be a burden for farmers. Rather, by working together and avoiding the antagonism that often characterizes conservation issues, good biology can dovetail with farming practices in a way that is mutually beneficial. Ballentine is a Graduate Research Associate of Zoology and Wildlife Science and Keyser is a former Graduate Research Associate of Zoology and Wildlife Science and now a Ph.D. student at the University of Georgia, Athens.