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

Vanishing Birds: LA Times

The number and variety of birds are in decline in North America; humans can mitigate the loss by adding pockets of natural habitat throughout communities
Joan Easton Lentz
Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Read the article from the Los Angeles Time about the decline in bird poulations.

Joan Easton Lentz’s latest book is “A Naturalist’s Guide to the Santa Barbara Region.”

Read about the Audubon Christmas Bird Count and the Great Backyard Count.

Read the study “Decline of the North American Avifauna” from Science Magazine.

  Invasive species; Agriculture; Logging; Hunting, trapping; Climate change, weather ; Residential, commercial development; Energy production, mining; Pollution; Human intrusions; Transportation, service corridors; Fisheries

(Source: Bird Life International Data Zone)

 Kakapo, New Zealand; Fruit dove; Guam and Northern Marianas; Kiwi, New Zealand; Hooded grebe, Chile and Argentina; Snowy owl, north of 60° latitude; Great curassow, Latin America; California condor; African grey parrot Northern bald ibis, Saudi Arabia and N Africa; Ultramarine Lorikeets, Marquesas Islands; White-rumped vulture; Regent honeyeater, Australia

(Source: Earth.com)

Copyright © 2019, Los Angeles Times