The Decrease of Bird Population
Nearly Three billion North American birds have gone since 1970
If people are asked to find a bird, most would think, “Easy, just look out your window.” However, as researchers have found at Cornell Lab, nearly three billion birds have disappeared in the past decades. Even though the change is fairly unnoticeable, there has been a roughly thirty percent decrease since nineteen seventy. Different causes such as habitat loss, global warming, agriculture, and more have all contributed to making it more challenging for birds to survive.
Birds suffer from different human effects such as global warming and deforestation. This causes habitat loss, which turns the birds’ homes into cities and densely populated areas. This also reduces birds’ mating grounds, which threatens the bird population. Farms that use pesticides are also harmful. Because pesticides kill insects, birds are left with less to eat. Climate change is also an issue. Because birds rely on the temperature to migrate, sudden changes confuse the migratory patterns and they can wind up migrating at different times of the year. Birds are starting to adapt to be smaller to travel faster on less food. Birds also play a big role in dispersing seeds and pollinating. They even help regulate pests such as fungus and various insects. If bird populations continue to decline, this will wind up affecting plants because there will be fewer birds to pollinate, the plants get eaten by insects, therefore the plants cannot disperse seeds.
Fortunately, there are various conservation efforts to help restore endangered birds. Initiatives to revive bird species include saving one of Brazil’s rarest bird species. The Araripe Manakin suffered from habitat loss which put them at risk of extinction. This conservation effort helped establish new protected areas for the Araripe Manakin to live safely in. A new protected area that was recently created doubled the population. If we can continue these conservation efforts, we may be able to recover species that had depopulated due to human disruption. Some things you can do to help at your house can include planting native plants, avoiding the usage of pesticide, and keeping cats indoors. Even these simple actions can promote a better environment for birds to live and reproduce in.