Vanishing Birds: LA Times

Birds are in decline, according to scientific and amateur surveys. Invasive species, logging, development, climate change and pollutants are among the culprits. A study released in September suggests North America has 3 billion fewer birds than 50 years ago. “The Anthropocene – our era of human domination – has filled local lagoons with condo developments, polluted rivers and drained salt marshes,” explains naturalist Joan Easton Lentz in an essay for the Los Angeles Times. “Freeways crisscross California’s coastal sagebrush bluffs, and as for grasslands, they have disappeared from the foothills. Fire, often caused by human negligence, has ravaged the remaining pockets of coniferous forest in our mountains.” She urges restoration of habitats and the creation of sanctuaries – wetlands, grasslands, forests sand dunes – to encourage rare birds like plovers and burrowing owls. Business parks, shopping centers, homeowners, apartment complexes can welcome birds by preserving or restoring small pockets of natural habitat. – YaleGlobal