Ocean Sentry
Almost a third of the 800 bird species in the United States are endangered, threatened or in significant decline, according to a report released today by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. Over the last 40 years, the loss of habitat, destruction by invasive species and other threats caused a 40 percent decline in grassland birds, a 30 percent decline in birds of arid lands and a 39 percent drop of species dependent on U.S. oceans, according to The U.S. State of the Birds, a compilation of data from three long-running censuses.
The crisis is most urgent in Hawaii, where more birds are in danger of extinction than anywhere else in the country. Ten Hawaiian species haven’t been seen in years.
“Just as they were when Rachel Carson published ‘Silent Spring’ nearly 50 years ago, birds today are bellwether of the health of land, water and ecosystems,” Salazar said.
Among the report’s findings:
Oceanic birds are threatened by overfishing that eliminates their food sources, oil spills and other pollution and the millions of tons of trash dumped each year in the ocean.
Across the country, familiar songbirds face the loss of habitat, pesticides, collisions with towers and buildings and cats.
Officials must act immediately to save Hawaiian species, the report says, by conserving and restoring habitat and addressing the many threats, including disease, that have decimated forest bird populations.
The report had some positive news. Habitat restoration and conservation led to dramatic increases in wetland birds such as pelicans, herons, osprey and egrets.
The report was coordinated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as part of the U.S. North American Bird Conservation Initiative, which includes the American Bird Conservancy, the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Klamath Bird Observatory, National Audubon Society, The Nature Conservancy and U.S. Geological Survey.
(From oregonlive.com, by Abby Haight)
