Nearly 3 Billion Birds Gone Since 1970

According to a new study published online in September by the journal Science, wild bird populations in the continental U.S. and Canada have declined by almost 30% since 1970.

Far from Passenger Pigeons, once the most numerous bird on the planet, the lost birds include songbirds, waterfowl, shorebirds, and most notably grassland birds.

“These bird losses are a strong signal that our human-altered landscapes are losing their ability to support birdlife.” ~Ken Rosenberg, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

I don’t know about you but I find these statistics disturbing on so many levels. Spring would be sad indeed if my Rose-Breasted Grosbeak didn’t arrive to raise his family in my yard.

Rose-Breasted Grosbeak

And Northern Cardinals are animals I assume will always be there when I look out my window on a winter’s day.

And Black-Capped Chickadees are one species I expect to frequent my bird feeder.

Black-Capped Chickadee

AND what would America be without our national bird?

American Bald Eagle

But hey, who am I to argue with people who see Mother Nature as a cash cow.

Who needs forests anyway?

According to the U.S. Forest Service, for the first time in more than a century, the United States is facing a net forest loss.

Even my little corner of the Concord River isn’t free from mismanagement of natural resources.

2018–The start of deforestation in my little corner of the Concord River.

Many people think trees are the only organisms affected by the destruction of forests. There are a whole host of critters receiving eviction notices when a tree is felled. Bats roost in tree crevices and the Little Brown Bat is facing enough challenges to add losing its home to the list.

Little Brown Bat

Did you know that a chickadee must consume 60 percent of its body weight each and every day. During a cold night they use up these Calories in an effort to stay warm, and they do this in the nooks and crannies of trees.

“If you cut down a tree, where will I sleep?”

You can help save our feathered (and furred) friends. Unless you absolutely have to, don’t cut down trees on your property, even if the tree is dead. Just because the tree looks barren to you it’s supporting a whole host of life.

Visit Cornell Labs for more ways to help the birds who share this great planet with us humans. Start by putting out sunflower feeders NOW! Don’t wait until the snow flies. For a Black-Capped Chickadee, it might be too late by then.

Blessed be :}