A recent report in the journal Science says there are 3 billion fewer birds in the world today than there were five decades ago. That's not species, that's just sheer bulk. But the abundance of birds has a significant impact on our global landscape. We're talking about birds and fall migration, and what a drop in bird abundance means for our local species and ecosystems.
Bird Diva Bridget Butler joins Vermont Edition for our annual fall migration show, how bird watchers in our region may be experiencing the plunge in bird populations and what climate and ecosystem changes mean for our local species.
And we'll discuss some simple steps the Cornell Lab of Ornithology identified which individuals and communities can take to help birds, including:
- Make windows safer, by installing screens or using film, paint or other methods to break up reflections.
- Keep cats indoors, as both pets and feral cats kill an estimated 2.6 billion birds annually.
- Reduce lawn cover and instead grow native plants, providing shelter and nesting areas for birds.
- Avoid pesticides, often toxic to birds or contaminating their food or prey.
- Drink coffee that's good for birds, by avoiding sun-grown beans and choosing shade-grown coffee that protects forest canopy favored by migratory birds.
- Reduce your use of plastic, especially single-use plastic bags, bottles, wraps and utensils, thus reducing the plastic many bird species ingest mistaking the plastic for food.
- Watch birds and share what you see, and consider sharing your observations with online projects like iNaturalist, eBird, or Project FeederWatch.
Broadcast live on Monday, Oct. 7, 2019 at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.
