Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Bird in Peril: What Can We Do


What we can do to help the birds

Did you know that 389 North American bird species are vulnerable to extinction because of our changing climate? The continental US and Canada have lost more than 1 in 4 birds over the last 50 years:  2.9 billion breeding adults.  There are declining bird species in every major ecological community. These facts, and much more information, are the results of an extensive study conducted by top US and Canadian researchers and made public this fall.

1.   If you would like to learn more about this important topic, here are some excellent websites and magazines that give us reliable information:

Website:   Audubon.org
Magazine:    Audubon, fall 2019
                       In this issue look for “Survival by Degrees”

Website:    The Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology
Magazine:     Living Bird, Autumn 2019

Website:  VT Audubon  - article “New Audubon Science: two thirds of North American birds at Risk of Extinction Due to Climate Change.”

2.   Some things we can do to help birds and the environment:
a. Make windows safe from collisions – look online

b. Keep cats indoors.  Cats are instinctive hunters, even when they are well fed.   Cats kill millions of birds every year.

c. Plant native plants that feed birds and pollinators.

d. Avoid pesticides and herbicides.

e. Drink shade-grown coffee.

 f. Protect our planet from plastic.

g.  Watch birds and share what you see.  Share the beauty of nature.


 by Susan James