[Birdtalk] Common backyard birds becoming less common

[Dave Slager]

Brenda and others,

I also feed birds in my backyard and enjoy watching them.  But there
are some reasons to believe that bird feeding might not always be
beneficial for avian health.  First, most bird species undergoing
population declines are not regular visitors to backyard feeders.
Second, bird feeding likely benefits non-native or otherwise common
bird species that certainly don't need our supplemental food at all.
Third, bird feeding tends to concentrate birds into one place, which
is convenient for viewing them but may increase the spreading and
prevalence of parasites and disease.  And finally, bird feeding will
not help any bird species unless food is indeed a limiting factor for
that species' population.  For most of our declining birds, habitat
loss or other factors are at the root of the problem, not food
availability.

This doesn't mean bird feeding always harms birds overall, but I
certainly believe it's possible.

With that said, I still put out my bird feeder for my own enjoyment,
but I don't believe I am necessarily "helping" the birds.  Under
normal circumstances, they're perfectly capable of fending for
themselves in the wild, which is why they have flourished in our
absense for millions of years.

Dave Slager




On 6/15/07, Brenda Kidman <bkidman at gmail.com> wrote:
> This article shows the value of the CBC and talks about the importance
> of backyard birders for bird health.  Someone told me once (when I was
> talking about how I would feel badly if I went away without making
> provisions for the backyard birds) that they would get along fine
> without me and what I was doing was nice but really didn't have an
> affect in the long term.  This makes me feel like I could really be
> making a difference.
>
>
>
> Audubon: Common backyard birds becoming less common
> Story Highlights• 20 common birds have lost more than half their
> populations in the past 40 years
>  • Birds in decline: Northern bobwhite, field sparrow and boreal chickadee
>  • Factors: Agriculture, habitat loss, pesticides, invasive species,
> global warming
>  • Health of a bird population often a harbinger of health of other
> wildlife, humans
> By Marsha Walton
>  CNN
>
>
> (CNN) -- Some of the most common birds seen and heard in American back
> yards are becoming a less frequent sight and sound in much of the
> United States, according to a study released by the National Audubon
> Society.
>
> Twenty common birds -- including the northern bobwhite, the field
> sparrow and the boreal chickadee -- have lost more than half their
> populations in the past 40 years, according to the society's research.
>
> "These populations are not yet on the endangered species list, but it
> is noteworthy, and we need to take steps to protect their habitat,"
> said Carol Browner, Audubon chair and former Environmental Protection
> Agency administrator.
>
> And like the proverbial canary in the coal mine, the health of a
> region's bird population is often a harbinger of the health of other
> wildlife and of human populations as well.
>
> "The focus isn't really on what's happening to these 20 birds, but
> what's happening to their environment," said Greg Butcher, the
> society's conservation director.
>
> The researchers say many factors play into the decline in bird
> numbers, including intensification of agriculture, other loss of
> habitat, pesticides, invasive species, and global warming.
>
> Scott Weidensaul, an author and expert on bird migration, said he
> remembers waking up to whistles of bobwhite quail, and falling asleep
> listening to whippoorwills.
>
> "Today you can't find a bobwhite in Pennsylvania, and hearing a
> whippoorwill is a red letter day," he said at an Audubon news
> conference Thursday morning.
>
> The report shows the current northern bobwhite quail population is 5.5
> million, down from 31 million in 1967. That's a decline of 82 percent
> in the past four decades. There are currently about 1.2 million
> whippoorwills now, down from 2.8 million 40 years ago, a 57 percent
> decline.
>
> The Audubon Society created its list of "common birds in decline" by
> analyzing annual sighting data from the Audubon Society's century-old
> Christmas Bird Count program, and results of the annual Breeding Bird
> Survey conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey. The data will also be
> submitted for scientific peer review.
>
> Changes in farming practices have created distress for some bird
> species. Some farmers are now using land once set aside for
> conservation to plant more corn for use as ethanol. And the
> disappearance of smaller family farms in favor of larger corporate
> farms has led to the disappearance of hedgerows -- fences of trees or
> bushes that reduce erosion and lessen the force of the wind on crops,
> and at the same time serve as protection and nesting areas for many
> grassland birds.
>
> Other farms have simply disappeared and been replaced by housing and
> commercial development, further reducing bird habitat.
>
> The Audubon Society, incorporated in 1905, lists five priorities for
> Congress to consider to slow the decline of these bird species: reduce
> global warming, support wetlands, fund ecosystem restoration, ensure
> biofuels are eco-friendly, and improve conservation programs in the
> next farm bill.
>
> While federal legislation is an important part of protecting bird
> habitat, Butcher said individuals can also make a dramatic impact on
> bird health.
>
> "You don't have to have a lot of land, just a corner of your back yard
> for native plants," he said.
>
> The berries on native dogwoods, for example, provide a food source for
> migratory birds. And he suggested that bird lovers not cut down
> flowers in the fall, instead leaving them up as groundcover for birds
> in the winter and as a source of seeds. Introducing just a few native
> plants to perfectly manicured, sterile back yards can make a huge
> difference, Butcher said.
>
> Other household names on the list of diminishing bird populations are
> the common tern, ruffed grouse, common grackle and rufous hummingbird.
>
>
>
>                 Find this article at:
>         http://edition.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/06/14/bird.decline
>
> _______________________________________________
> Birdtalk mailing list
> Birdtalk at utahbirds.org
> http://utahbirds.org/mailman/listinfo/birdtalk
>


-- 
David L. Slager
University of Utah
Department of Biology
257 South 1400 East
Salt Lake City, UT 84112
(801)-585-9742
slager at biology.utah.edu
dave.slager at utah.edu
dave.slager at gmail.com (all forwarded to same address)