A Blue Jay takes advantage of a peanut feeder—an artful variation on the classic tube feeder design. Peanut feeders can draw larger birds, leaving more room for smaller birds at other feeders in a yard.Photo by Melissa Rowell / Project Feederwatch.
Tom Cervone, Ph.D., Maureen Houlihan, D.C., Nicole Cervone-Gish, M.S., and Michael Cervone, B.S.
Our Planet Earth
Author’s note: This website encourages and informs all God’s children to act in Care for Our Planet Earth.
Introduction
Did you know 3 billion birds have been lost in the United States and Canada since 1970 with common birds comprising 90%? Such shocking news should tell us something is wrong, just like coal miners were warned when their canary died. Birds are excellent indicator species of ecosystem health and beneficial in many ways.
Let’s think about our “youngins” and love nature by saving birds and saving our planet. One way to help birds is to feed them. There are different types of bird feeders to choose from in stores and online, and February is the National Bird Feeding Month in the United States, as established in 1994 by Congressman John Porter to help birds survive the winter. Bird seed should be clean, fresh, nutritious, and of the highest quality, and feeders are to be cleaned regularly to prevent bird diseases. Love our children as we love our birds, and let’s give them both － the best of homes.
Birds can die from: (1) habitat loss; (2) collisions with glass, buildings, cell towers, electrical lines, vehicles, wind turbines, and solar panels; (3) electrocutions; (4) burning from solar towers; (5) cats; and (6) oil pits. Of the some 10,000 bird species on earth, Ivan Phillipsen from Wild Latitudes says “birds are our best ambassadors." He reports bird-watching as an activity many people love because it connects them to nature; it’s good for their health; and it helps make friends.
Most bird-watching is done by adults because it takes patience, but our “youngins” like birds too. When I asked children about their favorite bird, a 2-year-old said, “I like birds that are black,” while another 2-year-old said, “I like large crows.” A 4-year-old said, “I like the cardinal and the big woodpecker;” a 7-year-old said, “I like the peregrine falcon and mourning dove;” a 9-year-old said, ”I like the phoebe;” and a 12-year-old said, “I like the blue grosbeak.” Children like to feed, watch, and identify birds. Feeding birds gives children empathy or that feeling of care for other living creatures. A decade from now, will these birds be here for our children?
In the 1980s, I would take college students to south Florida during the dry season. It was fun to see bald eagles, ospreys, and many songbirds, wading birds, ducks, and even a smooth-billed ani, all concentrated around water depressions made by alligators who were always looking for opportunities. Trees in south Florida aren’t that tall, which brought birds closer for identifications. We saw roseate spoonbills nesting on islands free of predators; brown pelicans bumping our legs at fish-cleaning stations; a green heron defending its territory; anhingas drying their wings; purple gallinules walking on lily pads; swallows flying overhead; little pied-billed grebes dabbling on the water; frigate birds gliding over the water, skimming for fish; royal terns resting faced into the wind; and sea gulls looking for food. These habitats attract many insects, birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians.
What Can You Do?
Cornell University gives 7 simple ways to help birds. They are:
Make Windows Safer, Day and Night. Simple adjustments to your windows can save birds’ lives.
Keep Cats Indoors. Indoor cats live longer, healthier lives. Outdoor cats can kill many birds.
Reduce Lawn by Planting Native Species. The United States has 63 million acres of lawn that could support wildlife.
Avoid Pesticides. Look for organic food choices and cut out some 1 billion pounds of pesticides used in the United States each year.
Drink Coffee That’s Good for Birds. Shade-grown coffees are delicious, economically beneficial to farmers, and help more than 42 species of North American songbirds.
Protect Our Planet from Plastics. 91% of plastics are not recycled, and take 400 years to degrade.
Watch Birds, and Share What You See. Bird watchers are one of science’s most vital sources of data on how the ecological world is faring. eBird transforms your bird sightings into science and conservation. Give it a try anytime to report your bird sightings at home or elsewhere.
Educational YouTube on birds:
A story from Anthony, a seven-year-old bird lover: “I got a pine cone and put peanut butter all around it, and rolled it in good bird seed. Excited, I put it outside and waited to see which bird would come first, but a squirrel came and took my pine cone away.”
Tom Cervone, Ph.D. is Founder of Our Planet Earth, and a deacon and an ecologist. Sister Maureen Houlihan D.C. is a member of the “Care of Earth” Committee of the Daughters of Charity. Nicole Cervone-Gish, Ed. MS. is an award-winning St. Elizabeth Anne Seton teacher at Holy Spirit. Michael Cervone, BS. is the programmer and designer of Our Planet Earth website.
Comments may be directed to ourplanetearth.eco@gmail.com Thank you!