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The threat posed by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to have broad reaching impacts for the state and nation. Governor Brian Kemp allowed the stay-at-home order to expire on April 30, and Georgia is slowly re-opening for business despite conflicting public sentiment about the safety of doing so. Cases of COVID-19 continue to spread across the state as the death toll rises, and some experts are predicting a second wave of infections.
Atlanta Audubon continues to evaluate this situation and to assess our staffing and programs to determine when it is safe and advisable to resume activities. To that end, Atlanta Audubon is making tentative plans to reopen the office on a limited basis beginning in June. Most staff will continue to work remotely. Staff- and volunteer-led trips and events remain canceled, but we are working to reschedule some events for late summer or early fall, including Atlanta Bird Fest, which will now be held in fall 2020. We continue to evaluate public health recommendations and will make additional updates as appropriate. Below please find updates on our ongoing activities. Contact information for the relevant staff are listed below each activity, if you have further questions or concerns. FOR ALL ACTIVITIES
MODIFIED ACTIVITIES Monthly Meetings & Early Birds Book Club
Atlanta Audubon Travel Program
During this time of social distancing, Atlanta Audubon is developing a variety of digital resources on bird-related subjects for everyone to enjoy, including webinars, virtual events, Facebook Live events, and others. These resources are being shared on our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages, as well as on our website. Again, we encourage everyone to keep informed of developments, as this outbreak is continuously evolving. Atlanta Audubon will continue to follow and adhere to recommendations issued by the CDC. Any changes to our programs and activities will be posted on our website, www.atlantaaudubon.org. General inquiries can be made to Atlanta Audubon at 678.973.2437. Please leave a message and someone will call you back. Jared Teutsch, Executive Director Esther Stokes, Board Chair Resources Georgia Department of Public Health — https://dph.georgia.gov/novelcoronavirus Georgia Department of Health Daily Status Report: https://dph.georgia.gov/covid-19-daily-status-report Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
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 Tree Swallows by Kevin Rutherford. by Dottie Head, Director of Membership & Communications
Atlanta Audubon is hosting a variety of free virtual events on birds and bird-related topics during the COVID-19 outbreak. Atlanta Audubon is seeing a huge uptick in interest in bird watching as people shelter in place. In response, we have developed a number of free webinars, Facebook Live events, and other resources to bring the joy of birding into people's homes. Visit our website at www.atlantaaudubon.org/digital-resources for a complete listing and additional resources. Webinars Atlanta Audubon Digital Birds and Beers II Friday, April 24, at 7:00 PM Join Atlanta Audubon Director of Conservation Adam Betuel for a fun, interactive, and relaxed conversation with an exciting diversity of bird professionals via webinar. Adam will virtually “sit down” with the following speakers for a laid back dive into the world of birds. Guest speakers will include:
The webinar is free to attend. Register at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_avx-7_EjRWGOpX6IdKOXzw Early Bird Book Club Online –Owl Fest Sunday, April 26, 2:00 to 3:15 PM Since the Early Birds Book Club can't meet in person, we'll meet online instead. Our March meeting was canceled due to the COVID-19 outbreak. We're rescheduling this meeting as a webinar on Sunday, April 26, at 2:00 PM. This meeting will be an Owl Fest, in honor of Scott Weidensaul, author of the 2015 Peterson Reference Guide to Owls of North America and the Caribbean. Scott was originally slated to give the keynote address at our Atlanta Bird Fest Opening Celebration, but that has now been pushed back to October. Please read a book about owls—fiction, nonfiction, memoir, children’s—and come ready to share with the group. The Early Birds welcome all who enjoy reading about birds, birding, and birders. We are a “no commitment” book club—some folks come every time and other occasionally. Register for this free virtual event at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Qxg9B1ziSWKA6PkXxCgW-w. Feathers and Flames: Relationships Between Birds and Fire in Georgia with Malcolm Hodges Sunday, April 26, 2020 3:30 to 4:45 PM Many habitats in the southeast depend on fire, so many of our native birds have adapted to it. We look at some of the ways our birds cope with and even rely on fire to survive. About the presenter: Malcolm Hodges grew up in coastal Mississippi, and has a BA in Biology from Rice University and a Masters in Zoology from Mississippi State. He has worked for The Nature Conservancy in Georgia as an ecologist and land manager since 1992. His current interests are conservation management of threatened biota in the Southeast US; lichen systematics, distribution and conservation in the Southeast; and just about anything to do with birds. He lives on a small farm in Riverdale, Georgia, Facebook Live Events Virtual Ask Chippy on Facebook Live When: Tuesday, May 5, from 12:00 to 1:00 PM Where: Atlanta Audubon Facebook page Do you have questions about birds, bird feeding, birding, plants for birds, what to do if you find a baby bird, or other bird-related questions? If so, join us for this Facebook Live event where you can Ask Chippy (our Atlanta Audubon bird-help email) your bird-related questions. Panelists will include Dottie Head (aka Chippy) and director of membership and communications; Adam Betuel, director of conservation; Melanie Furr, director of education and a licensed wildlife rehabilitator; and Gabe Andrle, habitat conservation coordinator. Join us on the Atlanta Audubon Facebook page for this live event. Virtual Bird Walks on Facebook Live When: Fridays, April 24, May 1, May 8, and May 15 9:00 AM Where: Atlanta Audubon Facebook page Since social distancing is throwing a kink in our Atlanta Audubon spring bird walks, we're bringing a walk to you via Facebook Live. Join us on the Atlanta Audubon Facebook page each Friday at 9:00 AM, for a virtual birdwalk with Atlanta Audubon staff and volunteer trip leaders as they explore their yards or nearby birdy patches and talk about what they're seeing. We will conduct these "Virtual Bird Walks" weekly on Fridays until we can resume in-person bird walks. Atlanta Audubon is building places where birds and people thrive. We create bird-friendly communities through conservation, education, and community engagement.  Greater Prairie Chickens by Barbara Collister, Audubon Photography Awards. By Steve Phenicie
The first time I ever went birding was long ago – before gluten-free, before food trucks, before Greek yogurt, before kale, and maybe even before kiwi fruit. It was the spring of 1971, and I was a reporter for a weekly newspaper in northern Michigan. As I look back many years later, I can relate that experience to the report last year that the population of birds in the United States and Canada has declined by nearly 3 billion since 1970. The birds I went to see that brisk, sunny morning nearly 50 years ago aren’t there anymore. I was just a year out of college and belonged to a local Jaycee chapter. One of the members was a gung-ho environmentalist as well as a biologist for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. He asked whether we would like to see a local population of Greater Prairie Chickens “dance” on their booming grounds about 40 miles away. There wasn’t a birder in the group, and it sounded like a hokey thing to do, but about a half a dozen of us were willing to be hokey. I doubt if any of us – even the gung-ho environmentalist – had a pair of binoculars. We saw the birds, but unfortunately they weren’t in the mood to do what we went to see – sashay around. We got a laugh anyway, I guess, and went on our way. I wrote a story for my newspaper about the experience. Michigan’s efforts to save this Prairie Chicken population was never popular with some of the locals, who didn’t see why tax dollars should be spent on something that “wasn’t good for anything.” I told one critic, a Chamber of Commerce type who was also a friend of mine, that perhaps people would come to see them and spend money in his grocery store, just as deer hunters brought money into the area. He wasn’t convinced. Anyway, despite the efforts to save them, the Prairie Chickens disappeared from Michigan by the early 1980s. Today the Greater Prairie Chicken is found only in localized populations from Texas to North Dakota and is uncommon practically everywhere. Its historic range stretched from Massachusetts to south of the Rio Grande and up into Alberta and Saskatchewan. According to National Audubon, loss of the Greater Prairie Chicken’s grassy habitat is the single greatest threat to its survival. The findings about the bird decline were reported in the world's leading scientific journal, Science, by researchers at seven institutions. Some of the data used was drawn from Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count.  Freedom Park will receive a 12-foot Chimney Swift Tower like this one that was recently constructed in Piedmont Park. Photo by Tim Lynn. by Dottie Head, Director of Membership & Communications
Atlanta Audubon has received a $3,000 grant through the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Viewing Grants program to construct and install a 12-foot-tall Chimney Swift tower at Atlanta’s Freedom Park. The Chimney Swift tower at Freedom Park will complement existing bird- and pollinator-friendly habitat work completed by the Freedom Park Conservancy and their partners at the Freedom Park Bird and Wildflower Garden. Certified as an Atlanta Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary in 2018 and located in Freedom Park at the corner of North Avenue and Candler Park Drive, the garden is a site for the reintroduction of native plants and shrubs for bird and pollinator habitat. Since the 1950s, Chimney Swifts and other aerial insectivores have experienced drastic population declines due to several factors, such as the increased use of pesticides that harms their main prey, flying insects, and the loss of swifts’ nesting and roosting habitat (formerly hollow trees and more recently, man- made chimneys). Chimney Swifts, now listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, have responded to these challenges by increasingly flocking to urban areas that offer abandoned factory smokestacks or historical home chimneys that have been left uncapped and which mimic their natural breeding and roosting sites. Freedom Park is a free public park born out of formidable citizen activism linking the movements of environmentalism, urbanism, historic preservation and more. As one of Atlanta’s largest public green spaces, Freedom Park spans more than 200 acres, linking diverse areas such as the Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site, Old Fourth Ward, Inman Park, Poncey-Highland, the Carter Center and the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library, Candler Park, Druid Hills, Virginia Highland, and Little Five Points. Atlanta Audubon is building places where birds and people thrive. We create bird-friendly communities through conservation, education, and community engagement.  Updated April 9, 2020
Updated April 9, 2020 The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has now been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO), and Governor Brian Kemp extended the public health state of emergency through May 13, and a stay-at-home order remains in place through April 30. Schools will remain closed for the rest of the school year as the state attempts to limit the virus’ spread throughout Georgia. Atlanta Audubon continues to evaluate this situation and is taking a series of precautionary measures to protect the most vulnerable members of our community. In an effort to be proactive and minimize transmission risks, the Atlanta Audubon office will remain closed through the month of April, with a re-open date to be determined. All staff will continue to work remotely. We are also canceling and postponing staff- and volunteer-led trips and events through the end of April, including rescheduling Atlanta Bird Fest for fall 2020. We encourage everyone to remain calm throughout this time and to stay abreast of the latest recommendations from health officials. (Resources are listed at the end of this document.) We are evaluating this situation on a daily basis and will make additional updates as appropriate. Out of an abundance of caution, we are announcing the following modifications to our upcoming activities. Contact information for the relevant staff are listed below each activity, if you have further questions or concerns. FOR ALL ACTIVITIES
MODIFIED ACTIVITIES Monthly Meetings
Atlanta Bird Fest Events
Field Trips
Atlanta Audubon Education Programs
Atlanta Audubon Travel Program
During this time of social distancing, Atlanta Audubon is developing a variety of digital resources on bird-related subjects for everyone to enjoy. These resources are being shared on our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages, as well as on our website. Again, we encourage everyone to keep informed of developments, as this outbreak is continuously evolving. Atlanta Audubon will continue to follow and adhere to recommendations issued by the CDC. Any changes to our programs and activities will be posted on our website, www.atlantaaudubon.org. General inquiries can be made to Atlanta Audubon at 678.973.2437. Please leave a message and someone will call you back. Jared Teutsch, Executive Director Esther Stokes, Board Chair Resources Georgia Department of Public Health — https://dph.georgia.gov/novelcoronavirus Georgia Department of Health Daily Status Report: https://dph.georgia.gov/covid-19-daily-status-report Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html  Tree installation in Freedom Park at Old Fourth Ward. Photo courtesy of Trees Atlanta. Guest article by Audrey Pruitt, Trees Atlanta
The One Million Trees Initiative is the first of its kind in the United States to connect diverse communities and approaches that protect and improve the urban forest. Led by Trees Atlanta, this initiative is an innovative collaboration of 10 metro Atlanta cities and 10 Atlanta-based nonprofits, working together to combat local climate change and environmental stresses from urban growth. The impacts of climate change are amplified in urban areas where rapidly growing populations and competing demands for land use intersect. The City of Atlanta is forecasted to more than double in population by 2050, and the same trend is predicted for the entire metro Atlanta region. As more people move into urban areas, demands on metro Atlanta's infrastructure grows. Investing in the natural infrastructure of trees can have high returns on investment and provide many short- and long-term benefits to people. According to Matt Westmoreland, Post 2 At-Large member of the Atlanta City Council, “One million new trees in metro Atlanta would capture 1.4 billion gallons of water and 530,000 gallons of CO2 every year— reducing stormwater runoff, improving water quality, reducing rates of asthma and heat-related illnesses, and improving air quality.” This bold collaboration demonstrates how local action can make immediate impact. Connie Veates, Co-Executive Director of Trees Atlanta said, “The benefits of trees for the health and wellbeing of people and the urban ecology of metro Atlanta is abundant. Trees Atlanta is proud to be able to coordinate and lead this effort with our amazing nonprofit and municipal partners.” The first city partner to officially join the One Million Tree Initiative is the City of Atlanta. The Atlanta City Council unanimously passed a resolution on Monday, February 17 supporting the collaborative effort. The first ten metro Atlanta cities to formally commit to joining the initiative are currently being finalized. Greg Levine, Co-Executive Director of Trees Atlanta added, “We’ve been amazed at the level of interest from cities and other municipalities who have reached out to us since we announced the One Million Trees Initiative. We are definitely excited about the possibility of expanding the partnerships beyond ten cities.” The one million trees will include trees planted in city land and public projects, preserved in forested areas, and installed by individuals on private property, including residential yards and businesses. The One Million Trees Initiative will be completed within ten years. The initial nonprofit partners committed to the One Million Trees Initiative are Atlanta Audubon, Atlanta Botanical Garden, Georgia Conservancy, Park Pride, The Conservation Fund, The Nature Conservancy, The Trust for Public Land, WABE, West Atlanta Watershed Alliance, and Trees Atlanta. About Trees Atlanta: Founded in 1985, Trees Atlanta works tirelessly to address Atlanta’s tree loss, protect its forests, and create new green space. Trees Atlanta is a nationally recognized nonprofit citizens' group that protects and improves Atlanta’s urban forest by planting, conserving, and educating. www.treesatlanta.org About Atlanta Audubon: Atlanta Audubon is building places where birds and people thrive. We create bird-friendly communities through conservation, education, and community engagement.  Phase one of the restoration included removing privet and other invasive plants from the greenway and replacing them with native species. Ten additional acres will be restored under phase two of this grant. Photo by Dottie Head. Atlanta Audubon was recently awarded a grant in the amount of $20,900 from the Georgia Ornithological Society’s (GOS) Bill Terrell Avian Conservation Grants fund to implement a second phase of bird-friendly habitat restoration at Big Creek Greenway in Alpharetta. Atlanta Audubon will restore ten additional acres of bird-friendly habitat, building on the 12 acres restored during phase one of this project in 2019. Atlanta Audubon will be partnering with the City of Alpharetta, Georgia Native Plant Society, and the Ed Isakson/Alpharetta Family YMCA to complete this work.
Big Creek Greenway is a linear park extending approximately eight miles from its northernmost point near Windward Parkway in Alpharetta to its southernmost point near Old Alabama Road in Roswell. This park has proven to be an important greenspace for resident and migratory birds in Fulton County, with more than 190 bird observations recorded on eBird, a real-time, online database that has revolutionized the way the birding community reports and accesses information about birds. The focus of this restoration project will be to create bird-friendly habitat by removing invasive and exotic plant species such as Chinese privet and English Ivy, and installing native plants as appropriate that will assist resident and migratory birds to use the area as nesting, foraging, and stopover habitat. In addition to the restoration work, Atlanta Audubon will monitor bird activity at the site and will create a set of data from which to better inform conservation decisions in the future. In particular, the data collected through field surveys and banding sessions will provide valuable information on individual and species movement, survival rates, annual apparent reproductive success, habitat selection, species density at focal locations, site fidelity, and dispersal of offspring. Additionally, this project will allow Atlanta Audubon to conduct volunteer work days and community education programming, which will help raise awareness of the importance of birds and healthy habitats. “Atlanta Audubon’s restoration work at Big Creek Greenway is central to our efforts to make a difference for important urban public green spaces in Atlanta through our participation in National Audubon’s Bird Friendly Communities Program,” says Jared Teutsch, Atlanta Audubon Executive Director. “Alpharetta’s Big Creek Greenway is a highly used public amenity, not only by birders, but also by walkers, joggers, cyclists, and others who enjoy the outdoors. This project combines habitat restoration work with ornithological study, community engagement, and strong public-private partnerships to educate the public about the important dual roles that our parks must play as recreational and therapeutic spaces for people and high quality habitat for wildlife.” Birds that will benefit from the habitat restoration work include several species that are listed on Georgia’s State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP), including the Brown-headed Nuthatch, Common Grackle, Chimney Swift, Brown Thrasher, Wood Thrush, and Rusty Blackbird. SWAP is a statewide strategy to conserve populations of native wildlife species and the natural habitats they need before these animals, plants, and places become rarer and more costly or difficult to conserve. “The City of Alpharetta is grateful for our partnership with Atlanta Audubon, whose efforts benefit the local wildlife and residents,” says Jason Binder, Alpharetta City Council Member. “Maintaining natural habitats is essential for us to maintain the natural beauty and wildlife we all enjoy in Alpharetta.” For more information on the Big Creek Greenway, visit www.alpharetta.ga.us/government/departments/recreation-parks/facilities/big-creek-greenway. Atlanta Audubon Society is building places where birds and people thrive. We create birds -friendly communities through conservation, education, and community engagement. Atlanta Audubon recently elected Joshua Gassman, Gus Kaufman, Emmeline Luck, Paige Martin, and LaTresse Snead to the Board of Directors. The board also welcomed Robin Lanier, who joined the board in August, filling a vacant position. These individuals will serve a three-year term that began on January 1, 2020.
Current board members Angelou Ezeilo, Jairo Garcia, Melinda Langston, and Amanda Woomer were also re-elected for a second term. Additional Atlanta Audubon board members include Charles Bowen, Gina Charles, Linda DiSantis, Leslie Edwards, Shannon Fair, Evonne Blythers-Lapsey, Charles Loeb, Ellen Macht, Rusty Pritchard, and Esther Stokes. “We are excited to welcome Joshua, Gus, Emmeline, Paige, LaTresse, and Robin to the Atlanta Audubon Board of Directors,” says Esther Stokes, board chair. “These individuals bring a wealth of talents and experiences to the Atlanta Audubon Board that will help the organization fulfill its mission of building places where birds and people thrive.” For nearly 20 years Joshua Gassman has led interdisciplinary teams focused on sustainable design, including net positive water and net positive energy projects. He has successfully managed a broad spectrum of projects, ranging from large research labs for major universities to interpretive and education centers, many of which are nationally-recognized and LEED certified. In his current role as the sustainable design director at the architectural firm Lord Aeck Sargent, he leads the design team for The Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design at Georgia Tech, which aims to be the most sustainable building ever built in the southeastern U.S. Other projects on which he has worked include the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center, Chattahoochee Nature & Discovery Center, the Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center, The Bascom Visual Arts Center, and the High Museum of Art: Child and Family Education Center. Gus Kaufman, Jr., is a familiar face to many Atlanta Audubon members who have attended one of his bird walks. A licensed psychologist whose practice is with Oakhurst Psychotherapy Associates, Gus’s love for nature and birdwatching began as a child growing up in Macon, with an Eagle Scout father and a Girl Scout leader mother. Living next to the largest tract of forest in Macon provided the Kaufmans with ample opportunities to hone their bird identification skills. After college, Gus made his way to Atlanta in the fall of 1968, where he was a public school teacher in addition to writing under the pseudonym Smokey Kaufman for the Atlanta-based underground newspaper, the Great Speckled Bird. He later received his master’s in humanistic psychology at West Georgia College and studied psychotherapy in Boston, receiving his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the Fielding Graduate University. Gus is a member of the Greater Atlanta Gay & Lesbian Birders (The Gaggle) and, in addition to birding, he still plays soccer (badly, he says) and engages in social activism. Robin Lanier works in Georgia Power’s Environmental Affairs Organization as the environmental regulatory and strategy manager. In her current role Robin manages the development of Georgia Power’s environmental compliance strategy for all facilities, leads the development of strategy and planning related to the company’s environmental capital budgets, and provides leadership in environmental regulatory activities pertaining to matters before the Georgia Public Service Commission. Robin graduated from the University of Georgia holding a degree in agricultural engineering with an emphasis in structures and structural systems. She has received her Engineering In-Training (EIT) license in the state of Georgia and is also a Certified Energy Manager (CEM) through the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE). In the community she actively participates on the Young Professional Board for the Atlanta Children’s Shelter and is a mentor in Georgia Power’s Women in Engineering program. Robin joined the Atlanta Audubon board in August 2019 to fill a vacancy. Emmeline (Emme) Luck has worked as the Policy Associate for the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance (SEEA) since June 2018. In this role, she tracks local, regional, and national policy trends and developments to keep stakeholders informed about the evolving state of energy efficiency in the Southeast. She has also completed several research projects and speaking engagements during her time at SEEA. Emme graduated with a dual degree in environmental sciences and French studies from Emory University. She also earned a sustainability management concentration through the Goizueta Business School. At Emory, Emme also completed The Climate Reality Project Leadership Corps training in March 2019 and serves as the communications director for The Climate Reality Project: Atlanta Chapter, which aims to spread awareness of the climate crisis and its solutions by engaging local communities. Emme grew up in the small coastal town of Sag Harbor, New York, where she first discovered the importance of our natural world and her passion for helping others to connect with their environments. She enjoys exploring Atlanta and learning new things about the Southeast. In addition to her passion for environmental sustainability and conservation, Emme loves hiking, reading, traveling, and practicing yoga. Paige Martin is a career fundraiser and serves as director of development for global oceans at The Nature Conservancy (TNC), an international leader in marine conservation. Prior to her current role, Paige led the development team for TNC in Georgia and managed a comprehensive $36 million campaign. Paige joined TNC in 2014 after six years at Emory University, most recently as chief development officer for the neurosciences. In addition to her experience at Emory and five years in the corporate world (Fidelity Investments in Boston), Paige has led record-breaking development programs at The Asheville School, Duke University, and All Saints’ Episcopal Church. She holds a master’s degree and bachelor’s degree from Auburn University, both in communication. Paige lives in Atlanta with husband and Centers for Disease Control expert Dr. Arjun Srinivasan, two sons, and two rescue dogs. LaTresse Snead is Director of The Nature Conservancy’s Building Healthy Cities strategy globally, where she helps develop and promote nature-based solutions for the most pressing challenges facing cities around the world. While advancing strategy, fundraising, and communications efforts, LaTresse oversees a passionate staff who work on everything from greening megacities and researching urban tree canopies to harnessing the potential of stormwater and creatively engaging the world’s billions of city dwellers with nature. Her role also includes helping the Conservancy think through issues of diversity, inclusion, and equity. Prior to this role, LaTresse directed the Conservancy’s Volunteer and Community Outreach programs, where she launched Connect with Nature, a nationwide initiative that has linked thousands of people with natural areas and meaningful volunteer opportunities. Prior to joining The Nature Conservancy, LaTresse worked for a mix of nonprofits and businesses, including the American Red Cross, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, the Georgia chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and Tastefully Simple. She holds a BA in African American studies from San Francisco State University and a MPA with an emphasis in nonprofit management from Georgia State University. When she’s not traveling, she lives outside Atlanta with her husband and son, where she’s an aspiring yogi and cyclist. For more information on Atlanta Audubon, visit www.AtlantaAudubon.org. Atlanta Audubon Society is building places where birds and people thrive. We create bird-friendly communities through conservation, education, and community engagement.  Guest article by Theresa Hartz, Atlanta Audubon Volunteer and Master Birder Instructor
The number is staggering. In less than one human lifetime, 2.9 billion breeding birds have been lost from the continental United States and Canada. That is more than one in four birds that have disappeared from our shores, forests, wetlands, grasslands, deserts and neighborhoods. This can be thought of as a balance sheet. Each year birds produce their young while other birds die (naturally and caused by humans). Between 1970 and 2017, many more birds have died than have been hatched and survived. This astounding and disturbing conclusion is the result of a collaborative study recently published in the journal Science. The research team, which included scientists from the American Bird Conservancy, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the Smithsonian Institution, U.S. Geological Survey, Canadian Wildlife Services, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, studied data collected from 1970 through 2017. The data of the breeding population of 529 species were analyzed using North American Breeding Bird Surveys and Audubon’s Christmas Bird Counts, as well as ten other data sets. The team also analyzed more recent data collected by radar technology that tracks large groups of birds as they migrate in spring and fall. These are not our "exotic and unusual" birds that have declined so dramatically. More than 90 percent of the total loss of birdlife comes from 12 avian families. We are talking about our backyard and neighborhood birds! Red-winged Blackbirds are well known, common birds that utilize several habitats. Yet they have declined by one-third. For those of you who grew up in the Midwest, you might recall flocks of colorful Bobolinks flying in the fields. As with several other grassland birds, we have lost an astounding 60 percent of these beautiful birds. The Eastern Towhee is a common backyard bird however we have lost 40 percent of them. Even harder to fathom is the loss of one in four Blue Jays (Blue Jays!!) Common winter feeder birds, such as Dark-eyed Juncos and White-throated Sparrows, are both down by more than 30 percent. One in three Baltimore Orioles are gone. Perhaps you are beginning to grasp the incredible scope of this problem. To paraphrase the American Bird Conservancy, if these birds are in trouble, the wider web of life (including us) is in trouble too. It is not a case of just one canary dying in the mine, it’s almost three billion of them. Major drivers of dramatic bird declines Habitat loss through development, agriculture, and resource extraction head the list. When we develop a patch of land that was previously good, messy habitat, the birds have to go elsewhere. The problem now is, "elsewhere" has become scarce. In this same vein is habitat degradation, which occurs when the habitat is changed (often "improved") and becomes less able to support birds. Examples are when a woodland is fragmented or altered by invasive plants, or when water quality is compromised. To keep them green, people use pesticides containing neonicotinoids, which kill birds when they feed on poisoned insects or pesticide-laced seeds, for example. Herbicides kill host plants for insects that birds feed on, and birds die if their prey disappears. Other major human caused threats to birds are feral or free-roaming cats (a major killer of birds) and collisions with infrastructure (glass buildings, communication towers, wind turbines). The major decline (more than 30 percent) in our native insects mirrors closely the decline in birds. Climate change is expected to exacerbate these threats as well as create new challenges. The scientists who produced this report believe it is still possible to reverse course and stop this decline. Action at the national scale is needed, and, given the migratory nature of many birds, is indeed also needed at the international level. We need governmental and political leadership to strengthen, not weaken, our environmental laws that have been so successful in the past. Banning DDT and other pesticides brought the Bald Eagle and Peregrine Falcon back from near extinction. Wetland conservation in the Clean Water Act has increased our waterfowl by 50 percent, to the delight of both hunters and birders. There are three important bills currently in Congress that would help protect birds. The Recover America’s Wildlife Act would increase federal funding for state conservation programs, thus giving the states the ability to decide their unique priorities. These funds would be redirected funds, not new federal dollars. The Bird Safe Building Act would require new and renovating federal government buildings be renovated to include bird-safe materials and design. The Migratory Bird Protection Act would restore provisions in the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (which has been in effect for 100 years) that have been weakened over the last few years. Take action There are also key actions that we all can take to make our homes, neighborhoods and region a safer and more bird-friendly environment.
People often ask me if I have noticed reduced birdlife since I started birding. I answer, yes, most definitely! Sadly, there is now the data to back up this claim. If we continue down this road of losing 30 percent of birdlife every 48 years, many of our favorite backyard birds won’t be around for anyone to enjoy. Is this really the legacy we wish to leave to our grandchildren? Atlanta Audubon Receives Five Star Grant to restore Habitat at Cascade Springs Nature Preserve12/16/2019  Towering trees at Cascade Springs Nature Preserve. Photo by Adam Betuel. by Dottie Head, Director of Membership & Communications
Atlanta Audubon Society has received a $25,800 grant to restore bird-friendly habitat at the Cascade Springs Nature Preserve in Southwest Atlanta. The project is funded through a 2019 Five Star and Urban Waters grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF). Atlanta Audubon Society will work with seven partners to restore urban bird habitat by removing exotic, invasive plants and installing native, bird-friendly plants and conducting bird surveys in Cascade Springs Nature Preserve located in the Utoy Creek watershed in southwest Atlanta, Georgia. The results will be 12 acres of restored bottomland forest—a priority habitat in the Piedmont region—accompanied by a year's worth of bird population data, interpretive signage, and a series of educational programming with the local community. Partners include the Friends of Cascade Springs Nature Preserve, the City of Atlanta, Georgia Native Plant Society, Rock Spring Restorations, West Atlanta Watershed Alliance, Greening Youth Foundation, and National Audubon Society. “Atlanta Audubon Society will work with partners to help restore the native forest while also contributing to National Audubon Society’s “Plants for Birds” initiative,” says Adam Betuel, Atlanta Audubon director of conservation. “Restoration efforts will focus on providing improved habitat conditions for resident and migratory songbirds, including many species which have been identified on the State of the Birds Watch List in 2016 and or the Georgia State Wildlife Action Plan, such as Wood Thrush, Brown-headed Nuthatch, Prothonotary Warbler, Canada Warbler, and Cape May Warbler.” Atlanta Audubon’s restoration goals will focus on freeing the intact native tree canopy and repressed native seed bed by removing invasive, exotic plants such as Chinese privet, English ivy, and Japanese chaff flower and installing bird-friendly native plants as appropriate to supplement the native seed bed and provide more immediate benefits to birds and wildlife. In addition, Atlanta Audubon will conduct educational outreach and volunteer work days, including bird and plant walks and a local school program. Major funding is provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s U.S Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, FedEx, Southern Company, Shell Oil Company, and BNSF Railway. The goal of this grant program is to develop community capacity to sustain local natural resources for future generations by providing modest financial assistance to diverse local partnerships for wetland, forest, riparian, and coastal habitat restoration, as well as stormwater management, outreach, and stewardship with a focus on water quality, watersheds, and the habitats they support. Forty-six projects totaling $1.7 million were awarded, leveraging $4.4 million in matching contributions from grantees, and generating a total impact of more than $6.1 million. A full list of 2019 projects is available at https://www.nfwf.org/fivestar/Documents/2019grantslate.pdf Atlanta Audubon Society is building places where birds and people thrive. We create birds -friendly communities through conservation, education, and community engagement. |
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