The National Audubon Society has declared a "bird emergency" after a recent study found that the United States and Canada have lost a combined total of 2.9 billion birds since 1970 — a 29 percent decrease in the bird population over a 50-year period.
Just 12 bird families, including warblers, sparrows, blackbirds and finches, made up more than 90 percent of the total losses, according to the study published in "Science."
Additionally, birds that make grasslands their home had the largest population loss with more than 700 million breeding birds across 31 different species disappearing over the course of the last five decades.
Along with grasslands, bird loss in the United States was quantified in the study across three other terrains: western forest, aridlands and eastern forest. Pennsylvania falls under the eastern forest terrain in the study, where the bird population declined by nearly 20 percent since 1970.
"The connection between birds and humans is undeniable — we share the same fate," David Yarnold, president and CEO of the National Audubon Society, said in a statement. "This is a bird emergency with a clear message: the natural world humans depend on is being paved, logged, eroded and polluted. You don't need to look hard for the metaphor: birds are the canaries in the coal mine that is the earth's future."
Related:
- “Bucks Towns, Including Newtown, Aim to Boost Local Bird Populations in Celebration of 100-Year Anniversary of the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act”; http://sco.lt/5BNz8b
Newtown Township has been a designated bird town community for many years, regularly sponsoring events to promote conservation. In 2019 the Newtown Environmental Action Committee (EAC) and Pennsylvania Audubon’s Society will be jointly developing and implementing a new program promoting the use of native plants to support bird population. At the November 28, 2018, Board of Supervisors meeting, a plaque was presented to George Skladany, member of the EAC, to commemorate 2018 as the hundredth anniversary of the signing of the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act, protecting migratory birds for many decades. The Township also passed the “Year of the Bird” Proclamation. More on that here. https://johnmacknewtown.info/blog/?viewDetailed=201812271308