Shade Grown Coffee: Good for Birds & Birders

Birders and travelers in the tropics quickly see the connection between wildlife and coffee. In many tropical countries, coffee farming occupies much of the land, especially in the highland hills and valleys that were once cloaked in wildly diverse forests. Unfortunately, many of these coffee farms are monotonous rows and rows of intensely managed shrubs (monocultures) that are devastating to wildlife. But others are a mix of coffee bushes and trees (agro forestry) so wonderfully jungle-like that they are barely recognizable as farms at all. Birders often mistake them at first sight for wildlife refuges. These are shade-grown coffee farms.

The coffee plant evolved in Africa under the rainforest canopy and grows best in the shade. A traditional coffee farm can provide habitat to exuberantly varied birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians, insects, trees and flowering plants. The amazing thing about coffee farming is that it can be done in harmony with tropical forest conservation, and for many centuries, it was. Unfortunately, many coffee farms were converted to tree-free and bird-barren monocultures in recent years in a misguided attempt to increase production.

This transition, which has affected more than half the coffee farms in some countries and hundreds of thousands of acres, caught the attention of Audubon and other conservationists, leading to calls for a return to traditional shade-grown coffee production. Birders have been especially interested, since these farms are the winter homes to hundreds of long-distance migrants. Many of our familiar warblers, tanagers, orioles and thrushes benefit from habitat provided by shade-grown coffee plantations, as do rainforest icons including parrots, toucans, motmots, and hummingbirds. These farms also provide habitat for a multitude of organisms, from mammals and amphibians to plants, fungi, and invertebrates.

Vital Habitat for Migrants

About 200 different species of birds are known as neotropical migrants, breeding in the habitat and backyards of North America and migrating south to Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean islands for the winter. There, the multi-layered vegetation of shade-grown coffee plantations provides abundant food and cover. In many areas, coffee farms offer the only good habitat amid deforested pastures and stark monocultures.

The migrants pack into the farms every fall, feasting on insects and fruits and often changing their feeding and flocking behavior considerably from that familiar to birders in the north. Some of them stop and stay put, often on the same farm as the year before; others linger and then move on, farther south. Both songbirds and birds of prey make the twice-yearly migration; some arrive after journeys of thousands of miles and open-ocean flights.

Consumers and Coffee

How can we coffee lovers know if the beans we drink come from farms that are environmentally friendly and socially responsible? How can we reward farmers that are trying to grow a great tasting coffee while protecting wildlife and the environment? The only way to know for sure is to seek out coffee carrying the Smithsonian Bird Friendly logo. This will guarantee that farms are not using harmful pesticides and fertilizers. Plus, simply being grown in the shade is not enough. To qualify as Smithsonian Bird Friendly at least 60% of the shade trees must be native.

Savoring a cup of certified sustainable coffee can improve livelihoods for farm families and conserve wildlife and tropical ecosystems, a rare “win-win” opportunity. So, the next time you see a Baltimore Oriole, Sharp-shinned Hawk or other Neotropic migrants, raise a mug of shade-grown joe and celebrate the at-home contribution you’ve made to their survival.