April 9, 2014

Protect the spring warblers one sip at a time

More Trees = More Coffee
A recent article on American Association For The Advancement Of Science's website outlined the important role insectivores like warblers can play keeping coffee plantations healthy. 

Would you like a tree with your coffee? That may not sound like a good idea, but a new study suggests that mixing trees with coffee bushes could boost bird populations while improving crop yields. Among the chief threats bean growers face is the coffee berry borer (Hypothenemus hampei), an insect that lays its eggs after digging into coffee berries. Recent studies in Jamaica’s “high mountain” coffee farms suggest that introducing insect-eating warblers... continue reading 

The Daily Bird has addressed the issue of "bird friendly coffee" before and as more and more information unfolds it is ever more clear that preserving species means preserving land along all places in these tiny birds lives. From the mountain jungles of Costa Rica and Jamaica to the Texas coast, Mississippi valley, coastal marshes of the Northeast Unites States and Canadian boreal forests this is truly a massive, multinational conservation effort. 

One small step we can make is avoiding "sun coffee." This fast growing coffee viraital grows happily in large mono crop fields. It is cheap and easy and guess what it's the stuff we pour down our throats from all the Dunkin Donuts, 7-Elevens, and cheap store bought grounds. Make a change and buy only shade grown coffee and help protect important tropical habitat for "our" warblers. 

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