People often destroy bird habitats (including their homes) without knowing that they are doing so. Here are some ways in which humans destroy bird habitats or put birds in danger:
- Habitat loss because of growing cities, suburbs, and development.
- When birds are migrating long distances, sometimes they stop in one place that has just the right food for them – if people have built houses or golf courses on this ‘stop-over’ birds don’t have a place to re-fuel.
- Windows on people’s houses or buildings confuse birds and millions crash into them and die each year. Learn how to prevent window crashes.
- At night, lights in cities attract migrating birds, confuse them, and cause birds to crash.
- Sometimes forests are divided up and some birds need bigger patches of woods to nest.
- People let cats outside and they kill millions of birds (especially nesting birds)
- People release non-native birds and they push out native species. Learn about non-natives.
- People catch wild birds to sell.
- Sometimes people destroy food sources.
- Hunting (killing birds for feathers, plumes, etc.).
- Climate change.
- Lead poisoning, mercury poisoning.
Passenger Pigeons were once the most numerous bird ever, but they became extinct. Why? Humans hunted them too much and destroyed their main food source!
Book recommendation: A great book about Passenger Pigeons is: Grandmother’s Pigeon by Louise Erdrich – An eccentric grandmother leaves behind three eggs that hatch into Passenger Pigeons. Blends fantasy and science.