Middletown Values Its Commitment to Conservation
Middletown is celebrating two years as an official Bird City, a recognition program of Bird City Maryland. In addition to its Bird City recognition it is also a Sustainable Maryland City, a Tree City, and a Bee City. The town earned its first Bird City recognition in 2024 and added nine new action points for a total of 20 as part of its renewal this year.
Middletown completed actions in four categories: Habitat, Threats to Birds, Education and Engagement, and Sustainability.
Chimney Swift Tower in Wiles Branch Park. In 2025, the Sustainability Committee purchased signage to inform the town’s citizens and all visitors to the park what the mysterious structure was for. Photo by ajd.
As part of its commitment to increasing bird habitat, Middletown has planted two native pollinator demonstration gardens, one in Memorial Park and one at the Foxfield Rotary. A Chimney Swift nesting tower was constructed in Wiles Branch Park with educational signage. Chimney Swifts are a Species of Greatest Conservation Need in Maryland.
Light pollution is a major threat to birds and Middletown has enacted new outdoor lighting regulations that require all new developments to have Dark Sky compliant fixtures. In 2025, 203 of the street lights were replaced with lower wattage warm light lightbulbs, reducing skyglow and saving energy.
The Middletown Sustainability Committee engaged and educated the community by organizing a Green Lecture Series, which included a talk about sustainable gardening. The lecture was held at the Middletown Library, which has a Native Pollinator Seed Library where local residents can easily “check out” native seeds for their gardens.
As part of its sustainability efforts, Middletown installed a community compost bin at Memorial Park for residents who do not have the space for a compost bin. Compost bins are offered to the community at a reduced rate to encourage composting.
Middletown’s pollinator garden at Memorial Park includes an assortment of native pollinator plants including butterfly weed, rattlesnake master, echinacea, a and black-eyed susan. The need to water has been minimal once plants were established, even during severe drought. Photo by ajd.
Middletown held their annual World Migratory Bird Day Celebration at Wiles Branch Park with the theme “A Call for Birdwatching.” It featured a bird walk led by a local bird expert. This fulfilled the Bird City requirement to celebrate World Migratory Bird Day. World Migratory Bird Day has an annual conservation action theme and is sponsored by the Environment for the Americas, a Western Hemispheric organization that connects diverse people to birds and nature. This year’s theme is “Every Bird Counts: Your Observation Matters.”
The Bird City Maryland program, an initiative of the Maryland Bird Conservation Partnership (marylandbirds.org), was started in 2019 as a way to encourage communities in Maryland to enhance the environment for birds and educate the public about the contributions birds make to a healthy community. Communities must complete three actions in the Habitat category and at least one action each in the other three categories, as well as pass a resolution committing to becoming a Bird City. In 2023, Bird City Maryland joined the National Bird City Network, a joint venture of the American Bird Conservancy and Environment for the Americas. The Network unites and connects independent Bird City programs throughout the hemisphere who work directly with local communities to envision and complete bird-friendly actions. Together we form a powerful collaborative force–connecting people and helping birds across the hemisphere. Middletown exemplifies a small community that has made big changes to help Maryland’s birds.