Bird population drops by 12 per cent in Canada
Thursday, April 9, 2015, 10:19 AM - Canadian bird lovers are going to have a harder time spotting them as bird populations have taken a dip since 1970.
A recent report confirmed what many passionate fans had been suspecting for a while, ever year less and less bird return from their winter migration.
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The State of Canada's Birds says that the population has declined by 12 per cent since it was last measured in 1970. It also determined that the two main reasons behind the decline were disappearing habitats and the effect of climate change.
"As a group, shorebird species have declined by almost half. Most shorebirds migrate very long distances and are being affected by loss and alteration of wetlands, estuaries, deltas and mudflats at all stages of their journey," the report said.
But according to a B.C. naturist there's four easy things every resident can do to help the birds grow back to their 1970's levels.
- If you have bird baths or feeders in your house, always make sure you're keeping them clean. "That's really important to stop transmission of disease," Anne Nightingale told CBC News. "Some of those diseases can even affect humans, like salmonella."
- Try to keep househeld pets away from the birds. Spring doesn't just mark the return of migratory birds, it's also a period when many of them breed which means that your cat killing a bird might also be leaving a nest of babies to starve.
- Cleaning your windows could be bad for the birds. Leaving a window slightly dirty makes sure that the birds don't fly into it.
- And last but not least: pay attention to what you're feeding them. "If you're going to feed birds, feed responsibly. Think about if you would feed it to your pets," Nightingale said.
Source: CBC News
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