Birders Beware

[Mike Buckley]

One of the strengths of Nikon Cafe is the quality of the bird photography displayed on a daily basis. The following article explains that the number of birds in America and Canada has declined 29% in the last fifty years: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/19/...-america-canada.html?utm_source=pocket-newtab

That's a New York Times article, which may require a paid subscription if you have already used up your monthly allotment of free reading.

 

[kilofoxtrott]

Mike, it's an European problem too. And it's sad...

I haven't seen a Green Finch for years. They were very common.
Even Blackbirds and House Finches are getting rare nowadays.

There will be a new law about poison in the agrar industry, but the farmers are demonstrating against it.

Regards
Klaus

 

[Palouse]

Here is an accessible article from NPR: https://www.npr.org/2019/09/19/762090471/north-america-has-lost-3-billion-birds-scientists-say

 

[atlanta_man]

A little off topic, but one of life's mysteries to me is that you never, I mean never see a dead bird.
Except of course if they die of un-natural causes (hitting a window, snatched by a cat, etc.)
Do they live forever ? There's billions of them out there, but...

 

[Mike Buckley]

you never, I mean never see a dead bird.

I've seen them but don't know what caused their death. I assume they are as vulnerable to disease as any living plant or animal.

 

[Palouse]

Losing birds does not necessarily mean only by death (by various causes); birds can also be lost via lowered breeding rates, failed clutches. Weakened birds can perish while migrating over oceans and undeveloped lands, etc.

 

[JLH]

A little off topic, but one of life's mysteries to me is that you never, I mean never see a dead bird.
Except of course if they die of un-natural causes (hitting a window, snatched by a cat, etc.)
Do they live forever ? There's billions of them out there, but...

Oh, I see dead birds! I have two dogs and I walk a lot every day. We have a nice little woods in our back yard as well as round a pond. I don't see them often but I do see them regularly. They will be lying on the ground under a tree. One died the other day on my deck. No, he didn't hit the widow, he just sat down and died. Of course the local hawks take care of most of the old, slow birds. Life is tough in the wild and all of us living creatures have an expiration date! Now, the dead birds' bodies don't seem to hang around long. Either a night time scavenger gets them or the maggots do. Either way Mother Nature gets them back in the end.

 

[atlanta_man]

Must be hard choking down those feathers !

 

[rick_reno]

I found a dead one in my driveway Friday, no idea why it died or what it was (brown and white).

 

[Mike Buckley]

I found a dead one in my driveway Friday, no idea why it died

Your car probably ran over it.

 

[MNglass]

One of the strengths of Nikon Cafe is the quality of the bird photography displayed on a daily basis. The following article explains that the number of birds in America and Canada has declined 29% in the last fifty years: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/19/...-america-canada.html?utm_source=pocket-newtab

That's a New York Times article, which may require a paid subscription if you have already used up your monthly allotment of free reading.

It's not just birds:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/...line-scientists-are-trying-to-understand-why/

https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2019/05/nature-decline-unprecedented-report/

 

[rpracing]

Our eagle population is up quite a bit here. Along with the Canadian Flying Rats.