Bird losses are accelerating across North America, particularly in farming regions where agriculture is most intensive

[marmar]

Bird losses are accelerating across North America, particularly in farming regions where agriculture is most intensive
Published: March 11, 2026 8:23am EDT

François Leroy
Postdoctoral Researcher in Ecology, The Ohio State University


(The Conversation) Since the 1970s, the U.S. has lost billions of birds. We now know that those losses aren’t just growing – they are accelerating in places with intensive human activity, particularly where agriculture and expanding communities are changing the landscape.

Bird population declines have been closely linked to pollution, use of chemicals and physical changes to their habitats.

But human pressures on nature are not just continuing; they are increasing at an accelerating rate. Indicators of human activity, such as population growth, economic growth and transportation use, rose more rapidly after the 1950s, as did measures of environmental change, from atmospheric carbon dioxide levels to tropical forest loss.

....(snip)....

Where bird populations are shrinking faster

Using data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey, we analyzed bird population changes for 261 species across the contiguous U.S. between 1987 and 2021.

We found that, on average, bird numbers declined by about 15% – for every six birds in 1987, there were only five three decades later. Nearly half of the species we examined showed significant population declines, with the strongest declines observed for the common grackle, the European starling and the red-winged blackbird. ...................(more)

https://theconversation.com/bird-losses-are-accelerating-across-north-america-particularly-in-farming-regions-where-agriculture-is-most-intensive-276740

[ret5hd]

1. "Probably all the bugs eating their food...

we need to bring back DDT.”
—RFK jr