With development, common birds are losing ground

[YankeyMCC]

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WASHINGTON -- The loss of millions of acres of grasslands and shrubs nationwide to suburban sprawl and agriculture -- along with a warming planet -- has dramatically reduced the numbers of common birds seen across the United States over the past 40 years, according to a National Audubon Society study released yesterday.

Butcher said global warming was hurting birds in numerous ways as well, including the weather-related reduction of habitat in the far north, the destruction of trees in pristine northern forests because of northward-moving pests, and migratory patterns that have shifted north, too, as the climate warms.

"Birds are wintering farther north. In the fall, they are migrating south only as far as need be to survive," Butcher said.
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"These are not rare or exotic birds we're talking about ; these are the birds that visit our feeders and congregate at nearby lakes and seashores, and yet they are disappearing day by day," said Carol Browner , Audubon board chairwoman and former Environmental Protection Agency administrator in the Clinton administration. "Their decline tells us we have serious work to do, from protecting local habitats to addressing the huge threats from global warming."
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One key fight for conservationists is in Congress, where lawmakers are set to consider a farm bill that includes the Conservation Reserve Program , which has preserved 36 million acres nationwide in grasslands. But the drive to produce more ethanol -- a corn-based alternative fuel that many contend can help solve America's energy woes -- has spurred proposals that could transform those grasslands into cornfields.
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Individuals can help stem the decline of common birds in several ways, including dedicating parts of backyards to native plants and shrubs that "produce berries, rich and fat ones, which are tremendous help for migratory birds in the spring and fall," Weidensaul said. He also doesn't cut back his perennial flower beds in wintertime, which attracts birds "scuffing around for seeds."
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http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/06/15/with_development_common_birds_are_losing_ground/?page=1

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/city_region/city_seen/birds_in_decline

[izzie]

1. Watching birds has always been a thing for me.

It is not a hobby but just peaceful to watch them do their thing. I sort of wonder what happened to kids today or it may be the parents. I live next to a nice wood place. And in 7 years I have never seen a child in it playing. As a kid I would have made little rooms to go to through out it all just as I did where I grew up. 6 kids live next door to this woods.. All those private places kids had to hide in you know. As kids we were always in the woods or on the rocks doing some thing. My guess is it is easy to just pull up 'woods' on the PC and you do not get bug bites or your feet wet. I am sure it was a welcome time for my mother and my endless questions and my Great Dane had to go with me so I felt safe and I am sure my mother felt I was safe. I think that children need a time to watch the birds or they will miss part of child hood and if the birds are gone we will all miss some thing. After that bad ice storm this part of Maine had about 10 years ago you really could see what it did to the birds. The next year so many were not around.

[YankeyMCC]

2. I'm the same way with Birds

I'm doing well if I can identify a cardinal and bluejay. So I'm by no means a birder but I do like to sit and watch them when I'm out or just sitting on my back porch. I also share your concern about kids and the woods. We live right next door to a nice little patch of conservation land (to little but still nice). I think the local kids do go out there on occasion but I really don't see it very much, mostly what I see is the left overs from the teenagers "secret" drinking parties which I end up cleaning up after every few weeks.

I make a point to take my son out there every chance we get...we've even made home made maps...we identify wildflowers and pick a few sarsaparilla roots to make tea :)

[izzie]

3. I do not understand the thing with kids at all and have thought

I may just have a fault in what I could recall. But for years I always saw kids playing after school and then it just was not the same any more. It was almost as if I lived where their was no kids. I grew up in a very small town and if I walked down town their were always kids around to play with. Winter or Summer we did things. We got together for games and hockey etc. They would not let me play as I was to small but other kids got together. I was more a loner but I knew all the woods and where the wild flowers grew etc. If I talk about a bird, tree or flower the kids now think I am that old lady who is odd. With just two girls in our family it worked like this. My sister liked to be out because she like people and I because I wanted to know why things were so. Their must be those two types around still. Are they all doing all that on the PC do you think? Even different types like my sister and I had to learn to live with others and how the world worked. Can that be learned on this PC or what ever these kids are and what they are doing?