Minnesota is Seeing a Decline in Bird Populations
Many of us find it peaceful to wake up in the morning to the sound of birds chirping. An article in the StarTribune claims that some bird populations in Minnesota are on the decline, which means the sound of birds chirping in the morning might not be a thing later down the road.
The article says that a recent study looked at bird populations compared to 1970 and nationwide there has been a significant decrease. They say the overall bird population has decreased by around three billion birds since 1970. The article then broke it down to just Minnesota. It states that grassland and boreal forest species were most impacted. Grassland species are down around 74% and boreal was down about 50% from 1970. Those are pretty large percentages if you ask me!
Looking more at Minnesota native birds... western meadowlarks were down around 40% and bobolinks were down around 60%. Now the study did not directly look at the cause of these declines, but there were some theories that were thrown around.
The first theory was that cities across the country are continuing to build. As the cities expand outwards, they are cutting into the bird's habitats. Also, some birds are caught in the middle of the construction and don't make it out alive.
Another thought is climate change. Just think of last winter and the predictions for this winter. We have been super cold and wet. Many birds can not survive in those conditions, meaning that could be a reason for the decline.
There are so many other reasons that could be the cause of this decline. Hopefully, we do see this trend change over the next few years.
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