“Birds are an ecological litmus paper.”
– Roger Tory Peterson.

“Birds are a gateway for people to celebrate, understand, and reconnect to nature, wherever they may be, and regardless of whether or not they consider themselves birders. Protecting birds and their habitats has the multiplier effect of protecting everything else that shares space with them, including us.” 
– Melissa Fratello

The popularity of bird-watching has surged since the pandemic, which brought restless, locked-down people outdoors. About 96 million Americans said they went bird-watching in 2022, more than double the number in 2016, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

While Birding is one of the most popular hobbies in America and around the world, it is important to remember that birds are just one of the crucial pollinators that keep plants and ecosystems alive: The 4 B’s – Birds, Bees, Butterflies and Bats.

Recent news about sharp declines of pollinators – including honeybee populations – should be a concern for all of us – they pollinate most of our food, including the stuff that the animals we call food eat too.

Solution: Beautify your yard with a patch of native wildflowers and plants, and then enjoy watching all these important pollinators enjoying the fruits of your labor.

Ordinary people have an important role to play in practicing Planet Patriotism.  As Doug Tallamy says, “We need to have functional ecosystems everywhere—not just in parks and preserves…  We’ve got to coexist with nature where we live.” His solution is for each of us to create and sustain a Home-Grown National Park. Note: Rewilding can happen in smaller spaces too, on the slenderest of budgets. See How to Rewild Your Balcony, One Native Plant at a Time by Jeff Vandermer, in Esquire Magazine (April 22, 2021.)

• All About Birds – Cornell Lab of Ornithology
• Merlin – Free, instant bird identification help and guide, with photos and sound ID.
• Ebird.org – Birding Tool to find and learn more about birds.
• Birding Pal – When you travel, find a Pal to gobBird watching with.

  You can also host a Traveling Pal coming to go bird watching at a Hotspot near you.

• Urban Bird Treaty Program – a city designation effort through the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service  that supports partners in urban and suburban areas in conserving birds and their habitats and providing opportunities for community engagement in bird-related recreation, education, and conservation activities. Is your city one of the 31 U.S. cities in the program?

• Project Passenger Pigeon – Lessons from the Past for a Sustainable Future
• Species Requiem Day (PDF) – My proposal for an annual day of mourning for September 1, in commemoration of the extinction of the Passenger Pigeon. On September 1, 1914,  Martha, the last known passenger pigeon, died in the Cincinnati Zoo.