How can drinking coffee help birds?

Many of the birds that breed in the Wenatchee River Watershed in the spring and summer spend their winters in Mexico, Central and South America. Traditional, “shade-grown” coffee plantations provide some of the last remaining forests of this region, providing essential habitat for the birds. By choosing shade-grown coffee, you are helping to protect vital winter habitat for birds like calliope hummingbird, western wood-peewee, Bullock’s oriole and most of our warblers.

Warbling Vireo by Doug Backlund

In spring and summer, the environs of Leavenworth host migratory songbirds that fill the air with vibrant songs of courtship. Of the 338 neotropical migratory bird species that nest in the U.S. and Canada but winter in Mexico, Central America and South America, 161 species (65%) return to the Leavenworth area each year to nest in our forests and in riparian areas along streams and lakes. Nearly half of these are songbirds. Songbirds depend on good habitat for food, water, shelter and nesting sites near Leavenworth as well as good wintering habitat in countries to the south – Mexico, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Panama, Colombia, Argentina, Ecuador and Chile - and good stopover sites in between. To address the habitat needs of our shared birds, citizens of all countries in the hemisphere now work together through Partners in Flight, an international cooperative venture made up of agencies, environmental groups and private landowners.