National Bird Day January 5th - Our Call to Action
It is National Bird Day and that makes it a great time to do a reality check on the health of bird populations and identify actions we can take right in our yards to support and protect our feathered friends.
Julia Jacobo of ABC News reports: “The majority of bird species in the U.S. face a grim future in coming decades if environmental efforts, such as mitigating climate change and decreasing habitat degradation and loss, are not implemented on a larger scale.
More than half of bird species in the U.S. are in decline, with plummeting populations across nearly all habitats, according to the U.S North American Bird Conservation Initiative's 2022 State of the Birds report published in October.
About 70 species of birds have lost at least half of their populations in the past 50 years, and are poised to lose the other half in the next half-century if conservation efforts are not significantly ramped up, the report states. Those 70 species are not yet listed as threatened or endangered, but are at a tipping point, according to the report.”
With this alarming information in hand, what can we each, as individuals, do to help?
Here are six simple steps we all can take:
Visit Audubon.com. Audubon is a leading champion in this field and they provide a wealth of information via their website. We are excited that The Blue Ridge Audubon Chapter will be an educational exhibitor at the Gardening for Life Celebration on March 4th.
2. Watch Native Keystone Plants with Doug Tallamy, via The National Wildlife Federation website. Beyond what makes the bees and butterflies happy you will learn the importance of planting for the birds, as well.
3. Make your windows bird-friendly by adding reflective stickers or material. It is estimated that up to 1 billion birds die each year after hitting windows in the United States and Canada.
4. Keep your four-legged fur balls indoors, or in restricted areas. Feral cats and those who roam free have a huge impact on bird populations. Cats are the #1 human-caused reason for the loss of birds, aside from habitat loss.
5. Swap out some of your lawn with bird-friendly native plants. With more than 40 million acres of lawn in the U.S. alone, there’s huge potential to support wildlife by replacing lawns with native plantings.
6. Drink bird-friendly coffee. 75% of the world's coffee is farmed with practices that leave no place for birds, or worse, actively destroy forest habitat. When forests disappear, migratory songbirds disappear too. Learn more about Smithsonian Bird Friendly certified coffee.
When the Gardening for Life Project team talks about preserving healthy, biodiverse habitat folks often envision pollinators and native plants. In addition to the butterflies and bees and milkweed, a critical piece of any vibrant habitat is a robust and diverse bird population. We can all do our part to support and celebrate our magnificent flying friends.
