Bird-friendly California vineyards have fewer pests

New research documents that insectivorous cavity-nesting birds provide significant eco-friendly pest control services to winegrape growers who give them nest boxes.

Male western bluebird (Sialia mexicana) in December on the UBC Okanagan campus. (Credit: Blalonde / CC BY-SA 4.0.)

I was in graduate school when I first read Rachel Carson’s classic, Silent Spring. In that book, Dr Carson presented evidence showing that rampant pesticide abuse was killing birds and destroying the environment — and was also killing humans. This poignant commentary on chemical pesticide abuse stunned the public and launched the environmental movement. It led people to ask: Is it possible to grow sufficient food crops without constantly resorting to pesticides and other heavy-duty poisons?