FreeLists / tn-bird / [TN-Bird] Audubon: Common backyard birds becoming less common

["Greg Williams" <k4hsm@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/06/14/bird.decline/index.html

(CNN) -- Some of the most common birds seen and heard in American
back yards are becoming a less frequent sight and sound in much of
the United States, according to a study released by the National
Audubon Society.

Twenty common birds -- including the northern bobwhite, the field
sparrow and the boreal chickadee -- have lost more than half their
populations in the past 40 years, according to the society's research.

"These populations are not yet on the endangered species list, but it
is noteworthy, and we need to take steps to protect their habitat,"
said Carol Browner, Audubon chair and former Environmental Protection
Agency administrator.

And like the proverbial canary in the coal mine, the health of a
region's bird population is often a harbinger of the health of other
wildlife and of human populations as well.

"The focus isn't really on what's happening to these 20 birds, but
what's happening to their environment," said Greg Butcher, the
society's conservation director.

The researchers say many factors play into the decline in bird
numbers, including intensification of agriculture, other loss of
habitat, pesticides, invasive species, and global warming.

Scott Weidensaul, an author and expert on bird migration, said he
remembers waking up to whistles of bobwhite quail, and falling asleep
listening to whippoorwills.

"Today you can't find a bobwhite in Pennsylvania, and hearing a
whippoorwill is a red letter day," he said at an Audubon news
conference Thursday morning.

The report shows the current northern bobwhite quail population is
5.5 million, down from 31 million in 1967. That's a decline of 82
percent in the past four decades. There are currently about 1.2
million whippoorwills now, down from 2.8 million 40 years ago, a 57
percent decline.

The Audubon Society created its list of "common birds in decline" by
analyzing annual sighting data from the Audubon Society's century-old
Christmas Bird Count program, and results of the annual Breeding Bird
Survey conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey. The data will also be
submitted for scientific peer review.

Changes in farming practices have created distress for some bird
species. Some farmers are now using land once set aside for
conservation to plant more corn for use as ethanol. And the
disappearance of smaller family farms in favor of larger corporate
farms has led to the disappearance of hedgerows -- fences of trees or
bushes that reduce erosion and lessen the force of the wind on crops,
and at the same time serve as protection and nesting areas for many
grassland birds.

Other farms have simply disappeared and been replaced by housing and
commercial development, further reducing bird habitat.

The Audubon Society, incorporated in 1905, lists five priorities for
Congress to consider to slow the decline of these bird species:
reduce global warming, support wetlands, fund ecosystem restoration,
ensure biofuels are eco-friendly, and improve conservation programs
in the next farm bill.

While federal legislation is an important part of protecting bird
habitat, Butcher said individuals can also make a dramatic impact on
bird health.

"You don't have to have a lot of land, just a corner of your back
yard for native plants," he said.

The berries on native dogwoods, for example, provide a food source
for migratory birds. And he suggested that bird lovers not cut down
flowers in the fall, instead leaving them up as groundcover for birds
in the winter and as a source of seeds. Introducing just a few native
plants to perfectly manicured, sterile back yards can make a huge
difference, Butcher said.

Other household names on the list of diminishing bird populations are
the common tern, ruffed grouse, common grackle and rufous hummingbird.

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