Early spring is a good time of year to not do too much in your yard. Birds will benefit.

Song Sparrows will kick through fallen leaves to find food, if the leaves are still on the ground. Photo by Linda Miller

March 26, 2025—To make your yard better for birds, start by doing nothing. At least for a while.

That’s the advice from Connecticut Audubon and a University of Connecticut expert, summed up in this recent story from Connecticut Public Radio:

“ … raking or mowing last year’s leaves too soon in the spring can kill a key group of creatures in Connecticut’s food web.

” ‘Insects still have yet to come out of hibernation – or fulfill their life cycle – and most of them are going to be in leaf matter or in hollow stems of our perennials or shrubs,’ said Stefan Martin, the conservation manager for the Connecticut Audubon Society.

“Without insects, we won’t have birds. ‘Over 90% of our species are insectivorous, meaning they mostly rely on eating insects,’ Martin said.”

There’s more, including interesting info from Ana Lagrand, an entomology assistant extension professor at the University of Connecticut:

“Insects aren’t just food for birds, Legrand said, they also have other benefits, including pest control in Connecticut yards.”

So relax for a while. The birds and the bugs will be better off for it.