Bird Town Pennsylvania
Lower Makefield Township is listed as a participating municipality in Bucks County. Audubon provides the tools for the municipality to engage their residents, schools and businesses in making more ecologically-friendly decisions, conserving energy and in the process, saving money.
OUR MISSION
Bird Town Pennsylvania works in partnership with local municipalities and like minded organizations to promote community-based conservation actions to create a healthier, more sustainable environment for birds, wildlife, and people.
For more information about Bird Town Pennsylvania and additional Resources you can view by clicking the following link:
A letter from the Chair of LMT Bird Town Pennsylvania
Lower Makefield Township's Bird of the Month for May 2025 - The Brown Headed Cowbird
- The cowbird is a fascinating species known primarily for its unique reproductive strategy called brood parasitism.
- Unlike most birds, cowbirds do not build nests or raise their own young. Instead, female cowbirds lay their eggs in the nests of other bird species—sometimes over 100
different kinds—leaving the burden of incubation and chick-rearing to unsuspecting host
parents. The cowbird chick often hatches earlier and grows faster than its nestmates,
outcompeting them for food and sometimes pushing them out of the nest entirely.
This strategy is evolutionarily advantageous for cowbirds, allowing them to invest energy in
producing more eggs rather than raising young. However, it has significant impacts on host
species, many of which experience reduced reproductive success. Some host birds have
developed defenses, such as recognizing and rejecting cowbird eggs, but the cowbird has also evolved to counter these tactics. For example, cowbirds may monitor nests and retaliate by destroying eggs if their own are removed—a behavior nicknamed “mafia behavior.” - Cowbirds also stand out for their ecological adaptability. Originally native to the open plains of North America, where they followed bison herds to feed on insects stirred up by the animals, cowbirds have thrived in modern fragmented landscapes. Deforestation and agriculture have expanded their range, bringing them into contact with forest-dwelling birds that are more vulnerable to brood parasitism.
- The cowbird’s behavior raises compelling questions about coevolution, ecological balance, and the unintended consequences of human landscape change, making it one of the most intriguing species in avian biology
April 2025 - Bird of the Month - The Great Blue Heron
March 2025 - Bird of the Month - The Eastern Bluebird
February 2025 - Bird of the Month - The Bald Eagle
January 2025 - Bird of the Month - The Red-Bellied Woodpecker
December 2024 - Bird of the Month - The Northern Cardinal
