You may have heard in the news recently that new research published in the journal Science shows a net loss of close to 3 billion birds in North America since 1970—in other words, the number of wild birds across the continent has decreased by nearly 30%. Grassland bird populations are amongst those showing the steepest declines.
This study, led by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, provides the first estimates of the net losses of wild birds across Canada and the United States due to population declines over the last 5 decades. Although declining population trends have been known for quite some time, this is the first research paper showing the bigger picture—population change for 529 species, representing birds from nearly all biomes across the continent. The results are heartbreaking. You can find out more about this research and read the full article here.
The loss of wild birds and biodiversity in Ontario, and beyond, is why we founded BECO and why we'll keep working on research to support the conservation of these declining species.
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