🇺🇦 Ayah 🇺🇦

Millions of acres of Latin American forest have been cleared for coffee plantations, and some of the birds at your feeder are paying the price. Most of the warblers, orioles, tanagers, and thrushes you enjoy each summer spend the winter in Latin America's coffee country. Traditional coffee grows beneath a canopy of native trees, and those shade farms can support bird communities. But much of the industry shifted toward high-yield "sun coffee," which often means clearing trees and growing coffee in the open. The result is dramatically poorer habitat for migratory birds. So read the bag. The Smithsonian's "Bird Friendly" seal is the gold standard, and "shade-grown" coffee is usually a better choice than conventional sun coffee. If you want birds at your feeder all summer, they need a forest when winter comes.