Elias' Blog

The Birdfreak Team. “Why We Need Bird Conservation.” Bird Conservation, The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Jeffrey V. Wells, The Birder’s Conservation Handbook, The United States Fish and Wildlife Service, https://birdfreak.com/why-we-need-bird-conservation/. Accessed on 2/19/2019.

Barcott, Bruce. “Kill the Cat That Kills the Bird?”. Time, Dec 2007. Accessed on 2/27/29. 

Dorresteijn, Ine, et al. “The Conservation Value of Traditional Rural Landscapes: The Case of Woodpeckers in Transylvania, Romania.” PLoS ONE, vol. 8, no. 6, Public Library of Science, June 2013, p. e65236, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0065236. Accessed on 2/27/19.

Hernandez, Sonia M., et al. Coffee Agroforests Remain Beneficial for Neotropical Bird Community Conservation Across Seasons. PLoS ONE, vol. 8, no. 9, Sept. 2013, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0065101. Accessed on 2/27/19

Marie, Amarisa, et al. “Response of Wedge-Tailed Shearwaters (Puffinus Pacificus) to Eradication of Black Rats (Rattus Rattus) from Moku’auia Island after Reinvasion1.” Pacific Science, vol. 68, no. 4, University of Hawaii Press, Oct. 2014, p. 550, doi:10.2984/68.4.8. Accessed on 2/18/19.

Owens, I P, et al. “Ecological Basis of Extinction Risk in Birds: Habitat Loss Versus Human Persecution and Introduced Predators.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, The Balance of Nature, vol. 97, no. 22, Oct. 2000, doi:10.1073/pnas.200223397 Accessed on 2/18/19.

Another danger to birds is cats. Cats have killed countless birds and are possibly the second biggest reason why so many birds have become extinct. Cat lovers and bird lovers are fighting each other in what seems to me to be a never-ending battle. The passion and love that these animal lovers exude is powerful and their desire to defend them amazing! It seems impossible and cruel to take away, kill, or lock up the cats of the people who love them. However, the number of birds that have died by these predators is staggering! Cats are a big issue to the wellbeing of birds. Developing a peaceful solution between these two passionate groups will be challenging, but necessary, if we want to preserve the birds that I and so many other people cherish (Barcott). In my opinion cats count into the category of introduced predators. They are probably the biggest and most destructive of all of the predators that we have introduced into the habitats of birds that were not adapted to it. If we want to focus our energy on the introduced predator that is causing the most problems and would reap the greatest reward in bird conservation progress, I feel like solving the issue of household and feral cats is the best place to start.

This is the last of my posts on the current series I am doing, The Conservation of Birds. In conclusion, the birds of our world need our help. Scientists and the general populace need to work together to turn the future of birds around. Our world is filled with enough talent and resources to fix the problems that birds face. We just need to implement all of those resources and make compromises in our own lives to keep birds safe.

Our world is big enough for us both and we can’t take up all of its resources for ourselves because we need birds. If we want to continue to use the precious resources that humans have used for centuries, we must protect the other creatures that rely on those resources. My dream is to become an ornithologist, to study birds and discover more about them. However, if we destroy the bird’s homes, and also introduce predators to ravage their populations, then my dream will not be possible. Even if the environment does hold out for me there will be many other future generations of kids that will be passionate about birds. For their sake we should not destroy their dreams and passions before they even get the chance to experience the birds they were destined to study and love.

When looking at bird conservation some scientists have noticed what looks to be a trend in the dangers to birds and their characteristics. Here is a section from the article “Ecological Basis of Extinction Risk in Birds: Habitat Loss Versus Human Persecution and Introduced Predators” it states the purpose of this research: “The overall aim of this study was to test the predictions that (i) different taxa are prone to different mechanisms of extinction, and (ii) different ecological factors are associated with different mechanisms of extinction.” (Owens et. al.) The factors that Owens et. al. is referring to are the physical characteristics of bird families. This article specifically discusses the problems of habitat loss, introduced predators, and the characteristics of some bird families that might make them more vulnerable to one threat than the other. This research may help scientists help specific endangered bird families by focusing their efforts on the things that negatively affect that bird family more strongly. (Owens et. al.)

For example, woodpeckers are more vulnerable to deforestation than other birds (Dorresteijn et. al. 1). This statement seems to be agreeing with the research done in the article by Owens et. al. who I mentioned earlier and if we connect their research then we can see that the characteristics of the family woodpeckers make them especially vulnerable to habitat loss. My last quotation also references things that woodpeckers need in order to survive. The factors and resources that affect birds most strongly are the things we must focus our efforts on to resolve in order to sustain the population of that bird species with maximum efficiency. Although things like dead trees or large areas of forest may seem like things that are not very useful beyond cutting down and selling, we can’t forget the purpose of the habitats around us and the things that we will lose when we destroy them. Everything in our world has a purpose. Destroying things and places without thought will reap some form of unforeseen consequences. Here is a suggestion that a author makes to the conservation of birds:

In contrast with more traditional conservation approaches that emphasize protection of uninhabited landscapes, conserving ecological integrity within human-dominated landscapes can be achieved through focusing on biodiversity benefits to humanity, such as an ‘ecosystem services’ approach or the use of innovative markets for specialized products, e.g. shade-grown coffee (Hernandez et. al.)

What this quote suggests is the possibility that instead of focusing so much on protecting natural areas that people don’t live in for the protection of birds, we could instead integrate nature into our land. We could restructure our farms and personal yards in such a way that wild birds could live there without the danger of their homes being cut down. We can solve the problem of habitat loss by making the places we live like the places the birds live (Hernandez et. al.). However, a big problem that I see with this is the fact that some birds require very specialized habitats that we just couldn’t replicate in our society. For example, woodpeckers need large forests and dead trees to forage. Integrating that into our society in some type of farm or business just does not seem possible to me.

In this post I want to discuss a problem that many bird species have to face: introduced predators.

What do I mean by introduced predators? An introduced predator is an animal that was introduced to a habitat by humans that it otherwise would not have been able to reach. It then begins to hunt the native species, and because the native species are not evolved to defend themselves against this predator, their numbers begin to drop. An example of a common introduced predator that has affected many birds that live in island habitats is the rat. Rats have been introduced onto many islands eating the eggs and young of the birds there. This has been a big problem for many species of birds including a bird called the Wedge-Tailed Shearwater. A colony of these birds was being attacked by introduced rats on the island of Moku‘auia on of the islands in Hawaii. Scientists responded by starting a project to exterminate all of the rats. Here are the results :

Pre­eradication monitoring recorded high rat activity over much of the island, with rats detected in 80% of the tracking tunnels on 14 November 2011… Rat capture rate in snap traps and take of bait from stations were high at first but declined rapidly (Figure 3). The number of rats trapped fell to zero on 28 November, after 14 days. (Marie et. al. 550)

This was a great example of a successful project to help birds like the Wedge-Tailed Shearwater. There are many other dangers that birds face like habitat loss and poaching. These are things that we must overcome because what birds provide for the environment and society are too important to be overlooked.

Ballance, Alison. “Predator Free NZ – Ambitious and Under-Funded.” Our Changing World, RNZ, July 28, 2016, https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ourchangingworld/audio/201809596/predator-free-nz-ambitious-and-under-funded. 3/13/19.

Another issue I want to touch on is deforestation.

Deforestation is a great threat to birds and the world in general. Many birds have become endangered because of deforestation. The clearing of trees to make room for farmland and the expansion of cities has devastated many magnificent places and has made many birds extinct or close to it. Humanity needs to conserve the habitats of our natural world because the things that the animals and plants provide for us are invaluable resources that cannot be replaced. As it is said by Dorresteijn et. al. :

Human-induced landscape change poses a major threat to global biodiversity [1,2]. Forest species face the dual threat of deforestation and intensification of forest management. Woodpeckers are especially sensitive to these changes because they require large home ranges and depend on large trees for nesting and dead wood for foraging [3]. (1).

Hi guys! In this blog I want to guide you on an expedition into the reasons why birds are valuable to humanity. Bird conservation is something that I am really passionate about; birds drive me out the door to go on an adventure to find new species and marvel at their beauty. Birds may not motivate you but birds are an important resource to protect, even if you personally don’t enjoy watching them. I will explain to you why this is and how everyday people and conservationists can focus their efforts to help protect birds in the most efficient way possible.

Here are some of the benefits that birds bring to our society:

Ecological Impact

Economic Impact

Social Significance (The Birdfreak Team).

Now I will explain these benefits to help show you why it is important to conserve birds. For me personally birds have had a strong social significance in my life. I have always been fascinated by them and they inspired me to travel the world’s jungles to search for them and discover their secrets. They are what motivate me and keep me inspired to learn more. If birds were to become extinct, my passion would be lost and my inspiration halted. Bird conservation is the key to protecting my dreams and passions which is why I want to protect them. There are, however, more reasons to protect birds other than personal enjoyment. Birds actually have a strong economical impact as well.

Lots of profit actually comes from bird enthusiasts spending money on trips around the globe looking for lifers (a name bird geeks use for new birds they have never seen) and buying new equipment to see them better. More and more people are becoming interested in birding, increasing the value that birds bring towards tourism (The Birdfreak Team). Many people want to visit other countries because of their unique bird species increasing the country’s tourism. Another advantage that birds bring to society is the impact they make in keeping the environment healthy. For example, birds help pollinate flowers as well as distribute the seeds of plants to other locations where the plant can spread. They also eat countless insects which helps keep the insect numbers down and ecosystems balanced. (The Birdfreak Team)

American Goldfinch, photo taken with a bird photo booth. (My own picture)

My name is Elias Hadjes I am a new blogger here to share to you my thoughts on birds and the environment and share what my life is like as a young bird lover.