Wild birds play an important role in any environment. They clean up insect pests, remove garden litter, and generally make themselves known in the background with their songs. There are all kinds of reasons for attracting wild birds to your organic garden. Take the chickadee - up to 60% of the winter diets of coastal chickadee species is made up of overwintering aphid eggs. That's a lot of aphids! By placing suitable nesting boxes in your growing area, you can lure different beneficial bird species to nest nearby and raise their young.

Certain birds of prey, like owls, kill thousands of nuisance rodents in a single year. And these owls are on the lookout for just the right sort of box in which to nest. Certain types of bird feeders and bird foods will also keep your garden friends coming back every year. And bats, although they're certainly not birds, are also in need of special nesting areas. Bats eat hundreds of mosquitos and other flying insects every night, and play an essential role in the environment. The Little Brown Bat that is so common in North America, is suffering population decline and needs your help to live safe and healthy, and to raise their young.