Bird Conservation

This article will be about bird conservation and how to protect and save birds from the brink of extinction. I hope you enjoy!

Reasons

First, I will state some reasons for decline in bird populations. One main reason is habitat decline. Countless birds have become critically endangered and even extinct because they lost their natural habitat to deforestation or wetland degradation(changing water quality and amount and increasing pollution). One example of deforestation is the Wood Thrush. This small songbird's populations have decreased greatly due to loss of habitat, causing exposition of nests to cowbirds, jays, raccoons, and cats. This is just one example from hundreds of species who have experienced great decline in numbers because of habitat loss.

Another main reason is overhunting. Ruthless hunters have wiped out millions of bird populations. One example is the Passenger Pigeon. About 100 years ago, this bird had thriving numbers from 3-4 billion, but hunters killed them all, thinking that they were too common to become extinct. Many birds were hunted for their feathers or meat, like the Snowy Egret, which was hunted for its beautiful plumage.

Two other things that have gravely affected birds and other animal life are oil spills and pollution. Oil spills can occur on purpose (to not pay bills, terrorist attacks) or on accident (oil spills, leaks). This greatly effects the animal life. All the fish and other sea creatures die because of poisoning. Birds get toxic oil in their body when preening their feathers. Pollution is also very detrimental to animals. Water pollution causes birds to eat plastic, which kills them. Air pollution causes breathing problems, likely leading to suffocation from toxic air.

Lastly, DDT has also affected birds and other wildlife. It was an insecticide designed to kill small insects. But, the fish that ate the insects also became poisoned. Then, many birds of prey ate the fish and layed eggs that had thin shells, causing the babies to not hatch. For example, Bald eagles and Californian Condors have both greatly suffered from DDT. Bald eagles suffered so much that U.S's grand national bird's population would have gone extinct if a group of determined conservationist had not saved them by keeping them in captive for a few years and banning DDT.

Conclusion

I hope you learned some new info from this article! Have fun birding and helping the planet!