Opinions

Alaskans can help reverse bird population decline

In Jeff Lowenfels’ recent column about declining bird life in Anchorage, he alluded to a 29% decline in North American birds. Here are more details about this alarming crash of our continent’s avian biodiversity. According to a recent study published in the journal Science, bird populations in North America have plummeted by almost three billion birds since 1970). In other words, we have lost nearly one-third of our songbirds in less than one human lifetime.

Scientists from the United States and Canada analyzed data collected for decades by professional and citizen scientists. The study documented a 53% decline in grassland birds, a 33% decline in boreal forest birds and a 29% decline in western forest birds. Even the remote and largely undeveloped Arctic has been affected with a 23% decline. Migratory species have been affected far more than resident species.

Alaska is fortunate to have large tracts of undeveloped land that provide nesting habitat for many birds, but Alaska is not immune to the declines either. Recent studies indicate that several Alaska bird species that nest in boreal wetlands and those that feed on aerial insects, such as swallows, have declined. But many Alaska birds migrate far beyond Alaska and the U.S., where habitat conditions are often less optimal and environmental protections less stringent than here.

What has caused this decline? Many factors are responsible, but principal among them is habitat loss. Fly anywhere over the continental United States and the scale of natural habitat conversion you will see is staggering. Add to this the impacts of collisions with buildings and communication towers, predation by house cats, the application of pesticides and the collapse of insect populations. And let’s not forget the possible direct and indirect (fire, bark beetles) effects of a rapidly warming climate.

But all is not doom and gloom in the bird world. Waterfowl populations were once in decline. In response to hunters’ and other citizens’ concerns, the U.S. and Canada enacted laws to protect wetlands, initiated science-based harvest management and promoted public-private partnerships to acquire and restore wetlands. The results for waterfowl have been impressive; since 1970, North American populations of ducks and geese have grown by 56%.

Success in reversing the declines of songbirds is similarly possible. But it will take a concerted effort by both the public and private sectors and a shift in our values that too often treat natural habitats as commodities to be developed and/or exploited rather than part of a system that supports biodiversity and human health that must be protected.

This is everyone’s problem. Here are things we each can do to make our homes, neighborhoods and the larger world more bird friendly:

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  1. Support organizations that advocate for wild places and wild birds. 
  2. Millions of birds are killed every year flying into windows. There are quick, affordable ways to prevent this.
  3. Keep your cat indoors. Millions of pet and feral cats roam freely, killing staggering numbers of birds each year.
  4. Plant native trees, shrubs and flowers to support insect populations that birds feed upon.
  5. Avoid pesticides. Many are toxic to birds and the insects upon which they feed.
  6. Drink bird-friendly coffee. Farms where coffee is grown in the shade of trees provide habitat for many migrant North American bird species that winter in Central and South America. 
  7. Reduce one-time use of plastics, as they sometimes end up in the oceans and are ingested by seabirds, whales and sea turtles. 
  8. Get involved.  Share this information with your family, friends and neighbors. Visit https://www.3billionbirds.org for more information. 

Anthony DeGange is a retired biologist who has worked on migratory birds in Alaska for more than 40 years.

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