We can stop the birds from dying

Bird populations in many parts of the world have crashed. Here is what you can do to help save them

Bird populations are crashing, but we can mitigate the losses The arrival of crisp fall weather has gardeners thinking about the winter, a period of retreat in the garden but not of death. The plants’ withdrawal from the cold invites close examination of the leafless world. But if you need something beyond the display of holly berries, the smooth silver bark and latent buds of the magnolia, or the black silhouette of an old walnut tree, there is another, more vivid reminder that life goes on outdoors. We have the birds. Or do we?

A study by ornithologists and other scientists released last month told us bird populations have crashed. Since 1970, the United States and Canada have lost nearly three billion, close to 30 per cent fewer individuals. The losses are across habitats and species, though hardest hit are birds that inhabit the grasslands from Texas north into the Canadian prairie. The suspected causes? Habitat loss, more intensive agriculture and greater use of pesticides that kill the insects birds eat.

For those of us who see the garden not just as a living expression of beauty but a place where we embrace nature, the news is a reminder that we have some power to mitigate this distressing loss.

First and foremost, keep the cat indoors. Ask your neighbour to do the same. Cat predation is a major cause of bird mortality, according to the

American Bird Conservancy. This is not just from pets but all the alley cats out there, themselves the product of people throwing unwanted, unsterilised felines to the four winds. The cats are the instrument of bird death, but we are the cause.

Songbirds also die in large numbers by flying into windows. If this is a problem where you live, you can attach decals to your glazing. Another tactic is not to use pesticides, even sprays against mosquitoes, a pest best countered by removing sources of standing water, especially in the spring.

You might think the greatest step you can take for the birds is to feed them. This is, after all, the time of year our thoughts turn to nourishing birds through the chillier months ahead.

Do the birds need this buffet? Perhaps not, but bird feed can help at key moments in the year, in April and May and September and October, when migrating birds need all the fuel they can get. “These movements mean a high expenditure of energy for what are often tiny animals,” said Emma Greig, program leader of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Project Feeder Watch. “To have places along the way for them to rest and feed, that’s really important.”

If you really want to help birds, though, the way to do it is to mindfully develop your garden as a habitat where birds can find what they need to nest and raise young: food, cover and water year-round.

■ Jane Gamble is a columnist and writes on wildlife.