This is definitely in the spirit of the canary in the coal mine. Driving the Pacific Flyway or the marshland alongside highway 37, there are lots of birds. BUT…The New York Times had a long article on Friday, September 20 on bird loss. Apparently, scientists are documenting substantial species loss of common, backyard birds – by the billions. Then I tuned into Science Friday, an NPR regular program and there was another expert (whose name I didn't catch) talking about the same topic in a somewhat alarmed tone. The data has been gathered by bird watchers and the use of weather pictures that can apparently identify clouds of birds in the pictures of weather events. I must say, on a personal level, I have noticed an unusual quiet in my garden in the morning and evening times lately and mentioned this to my wife. I didn't think it was a special observation but rather something seasonal. Maybe it is worth taking note of.
The usual suspects (culprits) were mentioned: pesticides and habitat loss on the top of the list. Draining wetlands, plowing under fields, hunting, hitting windows in buildings/houses and cats are amongst the other culprits. Hurricane Dorian, for instance, takes the blame for considerable birds and habitat destruction.
It is worth attending to what is possible for us as individual gardeners to do. Minimize pesticides, especially neonicotinoids, which ultimately limit the migration strengths of individual birds. This refers to the strength an individual bird has to make their migratory trek. Also, important to keep cats inside so they don't hunt. I hope this isn't too much of a blow to cat lovers to think of their pets as predatory animals. Cutting down reflections on windows can be helpful. I suspect there are other helpful suggestions out there.
Again, this topic seems to be having its moment – at long last. There were 2 articles rooting for backyard bird feeding that appeared on the web and encourage backyard bird feeding targeting common species. Patrick Barkham wrote a piece for the Guardian about targeting urban birds in England. We need to get on it about our own depleted species. Emma Charlton also had something to say about the British situation as it was presented at the World Economic Forum. In other words, the canary may be in the coal mine but is making a lot of noise.
This seems a really productive and useful research direction. It is hard to think of red-winged blackbirds going the way of the passenger pigeon. Does anyone know of any other work being done? Who has noticed a ‘quieting' of their personal outdoor bird space? Is a bird feeder too much work?