That means lower exposure to chemicals on the farm, in water supplies, and in coffee cups. Shade-grown coffee also requires fewer chemical applications, like fertilizers and pesticides, because trees can provide nutrients and birds can control the numbers of insect pests. Those same shade trees provide numerous other benefits to the environment, called “ecosystem services.” These services range from storing carbon and protecting water quality to providing food to families and reducing the risk of soil erosion and landslides. So supporting shade-grown coffee also supports the conservation of migratory birds.Īnd there’s more. Loss and degradation of wintering habitats are important contributors to population declines. Survival and reproduction are key to the persistence of any population, and especially critical for the half of migratory species that are declining. The better a bird’s condition when it departs the wintering grounds, the more likely it is to survive migration, secure a territory for nesting and raise offspring. That extra weight is needed to fuel their arduous migration. What draws birds back are the benefits of shade-grown coffee-food, water, and cover for safety and warmth-which help them to survive and gain weight over the winter. In research we conducted, for example, my students and I found one cerulean warbler returned to the same farm for five years. Though diminutive in size, many of these birds have an impressive ability to remember where the best farms are and return year after year. Many studies confirm that migratory birds can thrive on the shade-coffee farms where they spend roughly half of each year. They only like farms where coffee is grown under tall trees, what is referred to in the industry as “shade-grown coffee.” Trees provide critical habitat to birds and other species, including frogs, butterflies, orchids, and mammals. Perhaps also like you, these migrants are coffee connoisseurs, but of a different sort. At least 42 species of these birds-warblers, tanagers, orioles among them-lift off from coffee farms. You know that your morning cup of coffee helps you lift off for work each day, but did you know that it has the potential to do the same for birds? This spring millions of songbirds are once again migrating thousands of miles from their wintering areas in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America to breeding areas in North America.
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