There are roughly three billion fewer birds flying about North America today than there were 50 years ago. This amounts to a staggering 29 percent decline in the continent’s diverse bird populations.
This is sobering conclusion of a study entitled Decline of North American Avifauna recently published in the journal Science.
This assessment was reached after a group of scientists studied data regarding populations of 529 species of birds. According to the paper’s lead author, Dr. Ken Rosenberg, a senior scientist with the Cornell laboratory of Ornithology, and the American Bird Conservancy, “This major loss was pervasive across all bird groups.”
2 thoughts on “THREE BILLION BIRDS HAVE DISAPPEARED IN THE PAST 50 YEARS”
This is so sad. At this rate, I have no desire to live another 50 years if we will have fewer birds in our backyards than we do now. I so enjoy watching the birds that come to my feeders. I try to feed as many birds as come into my backyard, but that is really not all that many species.
I fully understand why you feel that way. When I think about how many birds I used to feed a couple of decades ago, there is now comparison to what I am seeing now.. That is one reason we need to better manage for birds in the habitat that remains.
This is so sad. At this rate, I have no desire to live another 50 years if we will have fewer birds in our backyards than we do now. I so enjoy watching the birds that come to my feeders. I try to feed as many birds as come into my backyard, but that is really not all that many species.
Martha,
I fully understand why you feel that way. When I think about how many birds I used to feed a couple of decades ago, there is now comparison to what I am seeing now.. That is one reason we need to better manage for birds in the habitat that remains.
Terry