Sustainable Arlington

10/22/2026

Did you know? Halloween "cobwebs" can trap birds. That's not a good trick.

09/12/2026

Fall Migration ... Happening Now ... From Laura Kiesel, Save Arlington Wildlife ....... fall bird migration is underway. This means the likelihood of birds hitting buildings and windows is high and despite popular belief that this mostly occurs only around larger buildings or high rises, half or more of bird collisions actually occur at smaller homes. Building/window collisions are one of the top reasons for songbird mortality in our country and is a major threat to the survival of songbirds.
Here are some tips for what to do to reduce chances of bird collisions at your home and what you can do if you come across a disoriented bird on the ground:
Turning off porch/garage & outdoor lights at night, especially at/after 11pm.
Pulling down curtains and shades at night so indoor lights don't bleed through to the outside.
Consider purchasing and placing decals on your windows or using water based paints or sharpies to place makeshift decals.
If you have indoor plants, keep them away from right next to windows during the day if shades are up so birds don't mistake them for plants they can land on.
If you find a bird grounded, please immediately and gently place them in a small cloth-lined box like a shoe box and make sure there are airholes so they can breathe (or poke some in). Consider keeping a couple of shoeboxes on hand in your home & car for this purpose. A larger shipping box and towel can work for larger raptors like hawks. In a pinch, a brown paper bag can work for a small songbird (again with ventilation holes poked in first).
If you contain a bird, do NOT offer food or water and do not release the bird even if the bird seems to "snap out of it." Studies show birds that have collisions will usually die without medical intervention. Any bird that has had a collision with a building or car needs medical attention.
Keep bird in that dark, warm, quiet space till help is attained.
Contact a vet or rehabber ASAP. Some rehabbers and vets that take birds include HEAL vet clinic, Julie Ford in Hopkinton, Alison Weber in Wayland, Tufts Wildlife Clinic, & New England Wildlife Center. You can find their numbers at our sight here: https://savearlingtonwildlife.org/what-to-do-if-you-find-injured-or-dead-wildlife/
This is a picture of just one of the nearly 200 songbirds the Wild Bird Fund in New York has received just in the past few days grounded from building strikes.

What To Do If You Find Injured or Dead Wildlife The question comes up (several times) weekly on Arlington social media–someone spots an injured bird or raccoon or bunny and wants to know what to do to help. Or what about dead wildlife? Here’s some guidance. If you can’t contain or transport wi...

09/06/2026

Cleaning up your garden for the winter? How about leaving the leaves and protecting their inhabitants for future generations?

08/14/2026

West Nile killed these crows. Non-pesticide solutions manage mosquito populations that carry West Nile by supporting bird and insect species that eat mosquitoes. Read more at the link provided.

Save Arlington Wildlife has been getting a lot of reports of very sick crows in town lately, and they have all passed away before we can do much about it. Most of these crows are dying from West Nile virus, which is also felling a lot of hawks and owls in the area as well (including a baby Cooper's hawk in Arlington). West Nile is transmitted via a mosquito bite to the bird. Humans can get it as well. Here's some things you can do to help:

- After a rain, please empty any puddles that have accrued on your property in stacked tires, left out children toys, pet bowls, etc.
If you have a standing bird bath or leave pans of water out for wildlife during heat waves, please dump the water at dusk every night and at least every other day, swab with white vinegar and rinse well before refilling (the vinegar kills stubborn leftover mosquito eggs). The bonus is standing water overnight also attracts rats so dumping water at night can reduce likelihood of rats visiting or burrowing in your yard.
- If you have a marshy yard and live next to or near one of Arlington's many water bodies, you can consider planting (or buying outdoor potted plants) that attract dragonflies like Black-Eyed Susan, White Yarrow, Swamp/Rose milkweed, and Echinacea as dragonflies are adept mosquito predators.
- Also, if you live right next to or near one of Arlington's ponds, consider getting a "Slot Box" swallow nest box on your property next season. Tree Swallows eat a lot of mosquitoes--but they have lost a lot of the mature trees that serve as their critical nesting habitat and their numbers in Arlington have decreased considerably in recent years as a result. This means more mosquitoes and more West Nile mortalities of crows and raptors in our town. Save Arlington Wildlife is glad to collaborate on that with anyone potentially interested and is hoping to get a grant for this purpose.
- If you want to take bird habitat offerings even farther, consider setting up a "dummy chimney" on your rooftop to attract Chimney Swifts--who also are big bug eaters but have lost a lot of habitat.

07/01/2026

Prepping for Hotter Days in the Mystic River Watershed ...

It’s getting HOT this summer. Explore how and why we’re addressing extreme heat in the watershed.

06/23/2026

It's costly for Arlington to pay to incinerate wet, organic matter.

Reducing food scraps from your trash will reduce the weight, and cost of hauling our trash.

Learn more at www.arlingtonma.gov/recycle

06/16/2026

[new] ... Smart Mosquito Management at Home ...

This brochure discusses the risks posed by backyard mosquito sprays and covers simple and environmentally friendly practices to effectively manage mosquitoes instead of using insecticides.

06/03/2026

MA native plants/pollinators calendar ... Great talks, films, in-person events for Pollinator Month

At this Pop-Up market, we will be joined by several growers from our native nursery network, all small businesses who specialize in sustainably-grown native plants.

05/18/2026

5/19: ***Mosquito Control: Science, Risks, and Solutions*** 12-1 pm, EDT, zoom ... Webinarhttps://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/5c9mxsu/lp/6b771c74-1efb-4d22-bb71-7fdd7d79fd78

You’ll notice many mosquito control companies offering to spray your yard this time of year. Though this may seem like a quick and easy way to deal with mosquitoes, it’s often an ineffective control strategy. These insecticides are toxic to pollinators and other beneficial insects and may pose a...

05/09/2026

5/9, 2-5 PM: EcoFest Summit 2026: Greening Our Neighborhoods Together ...

The Town of Arlington is excited to announce this year’s EcoFest Summit, a vibrant in-person event dedicated to greening Arlington, neighborhood by neighborhood. This free event will take place on Saturday, May 9, 2026, from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM in the large Main Hall at the Arlington Community Cent...