GR: Birds and other wildlife are declining because of these human activities:
- habitat destruction (building and farming)
- resource harvests (logging, livestock grazing, and water diversion)
- habitat deterioration caused by introduced invasive plants
- habitat poisoning with pesticides and toxic wastes
Black-headed Grosbeaks aren’t as large as Robins, but they are big enough to have trouble perching on bird feeders. Young birds flutter and flap as they learn to use the feeder; occasionally you will see one hanging upside down from the feeder perch, it’s embarrassed blush hidden beneath its fine new feathers. Grosbeaks eat berries and insects, but their large beaks are especially effective with seeds. Their song is a rich warble similar to a robin’s but softer and sweeter (Photo: Male Black-headed Grosbeak above and Lazuli Buntings below by GR).
Numerous issues are present in each of these four topics. For instance, the sounds of our construction machinery is harmful to birds. In the article below, Sally Perkins discusses the hazard that windows create, and offers some solutions.
“It’s our responsibility to take care of all animals on this planet, to protect them from harm and keep them from extinction. With that in mind, we need to pay a little more attention to the windows we’re installing both on high-rise buildings and in our homes. Astonishingly, around 1,000,000,000 birds are killed every year in the United States as they unwittingly fly into the windows of our man-made structures.
Despite the fact that not all birds are killed on impact, a large number of them eventually perish regardless; a devastating result of the internal damage, bleeding and brain trauma caused by the initial collision. The fear is that a number of species, such as the Wood Thrush, Painted Bunting, Warbler, Kentucky Warbler and the Worm-eating Warbler are at risk of becoming extinct if the problem persists.
The good news, however, is that there are a number of materials and tricks we can employ to alert birds to the oncoming danger of a transparent or reflective surface, some of which are listed below.
- 1. Angled Glass
- 2. Fritted Glass
- 3. Etched or Sandblasted Glass
- 4. UV-reflective Glass
- 5. Decals and wind chimes
- 6. External shutters, including Venetian blinds
- 7. Tape Strips
- 8. All-season bug screens
- 9. External shades and awnings
- 10. The whitewashing of unused windows
GarryRogers Nature Conservation 
It surprises me how many different types of birds are becoming extinct due to human growth. the number of bird deaths is astonishing!
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Yes it is absolutely a complex problem, the can be said for all the lovely polinators falling prey to pesticides. Atleast the fix in window architeture is a simple fix. I will absolutely promote the idea to people building houses because I think it should be a principle incorporated in to any house working towards the lowest possible impact!
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Laura, loss of habitats along migration routes is the largest problem, but windows, cats, hunting, the pet trade, and pesticide poisoned seeds and insects help explain the fall in bird numbers.
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Thank you for this post this is so enlightening. The drop in bird diversity is such a tragedy, also largely related to the removal of important migration lands and the introduction of so many house cats. I am really interested in the areas of ecoconscious arquitectura. The number is awful, but this is such an easy fix! Thank you!!
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Renee, It’s probably inevitable, but may come too late for many species.
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Not to mention the millions of migrating songbirds captured in the Mediterranean using nets and glue on branches. They are used for food and bring top dollar. The human species needs a severe population correction…..
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Holy shit. 😦
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Yes. I knew it was large, but not that large. Little wonder that wildlife is dying out; we kill so unconsciously unaware of what’s happening.
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What an horrific figure:(
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