Watching Birds Disappear

Chapter 2

Watching Birds Disappear

Howard Youth

In the year 2000, Spix’s macaws vanished a 2000 study published by the global con- from northeast Brazil. The large, powder- servation organization BirdLife International, blue birds’ disappearance was no fluke. Farm- the Spix’s macaw and almost 1,200 addi- ers and timber cutters cleared their wooded tional species—about 12 percent of the river forest habitat. Bird traders bagged the world’s remaining bird species—may face birds, and hunters shot them. Today, only extinction within the next century. Most 40–60 Spix’s macaws still live in aviaries, struggle against a deadly mixture of threats. where most of them were born. None remain Although some bird extinctions now seem in riverside woodlands where the birds were imminent, many can still be avoided with a “discovered” just 183 years ago.1 deep commitment to bird conservation as While scientists puzzle over the prospects an integral part of a sustainable development for breeding these birds and releasing their strategy. For many reasons, such a commit- progeny back to the wild, many wonder how ment would be in humanity’s best interests.3 re-introduced birds would learn to locate As the growing popularity of bird-watch- food. With little habitat left, they would need ing, or birding, highlights, people have long to fly to other scattered habitat “islands” to been inspired by the beauty, songs, and var- find enough fruit and seeds to survive. Even ied behaviors of birds. Central America’s if all of this worked out, the birds’ young Mayas and Aztecs worshipped Quetzalcoatl, would be threatened by an invasive intro- a dominant spiritual character cloaked in the duced insect—the “Africanized” hybrid hon- iridescent green feathers of the resplendent eybee—that inhabits 40 percent of remaining quetzal, a bird now sought by binocular-tot- tree cavities suitable for macaw nesting.2 ing birders. Ancient Egyptians similarly The demise of the Spix’s macaw resonates revered the falcon god Horus, while many far beyond one tiny Brazilian region, for this ethnic groups around the world still ascribe is far from an isolated incident. According to strong spiritual powers to various bird species,

14 State of the World 2003 WATCHING BIRDS DISAPPEAR

as well as deriving protein and ornaments how humanity’s actions affect the world’s from local birds. Native American tribes con- ecosystems and the more elusive wildlife that tinue to incorporate eagle feathers into their share their habitats. In Europe, biologists rituals, while East African pastoral tribes do consider dippers, which are round-bodied the same with ostrich feathers. Birds’ powers stream-living songbirds, valuable indicators of of flight inspired our flying machines and clean water because they feed on sensitive continue to draw the attention of artists and bottom-dwelling insects such as caddisfly lar- photographers worldwide.4 vae, which disappear in sullied waters. Dis- But more important, people benefit from appearance of dippers and their prey also invaluable goods and services that birds pro- follows water acidification brought on by vide in habitats worldwide. Scientists are just acid rain or the replacement of native decid- now starting to quantify these “behind-the- uous forests with pine plantations. Other scenes” contributions. Many birds, for exam- species are important indicators of threats to ple, feed on fruits, scattering seeds as they feed humanity, including chemical contamination, or in their droppings as they flap from place disease, and global warming.7 to place. Recent studies revealed that black- Ornithologists are compiling status reports casqued, brown-cheeked, and piping hornbills for all of the world’s approximately 9,800 are among tropical Africa’s most important bird species, but what they already have tal- seed distributors. In tropical Central and lied is alarming. (See Box 2–1 for some exam- South America, toucans and trogons provide ples.) Human-related factors threaten 99 this vital service.5 percent of the species in greatest danger. Bird On plains and other open areas, vultures extinctions are on the increase, already top- provide natural sanitation services by scav- ping 50 times the natural rate of loss, with at enging animal carcasses. Hummingbirds, ori- least 128 species vanishing over the last 500 oles, and other nectar-feeding birds pollinate years—103 of which became extinct since a wide variety of wildflowers, shrubs, and 1800. (See Table 2–1.) On islands, human- trees, including many valued by people, while caused bird extinctions are not new: by thousands of insect-eating species and hun- sleuthing bits of bone found on far-flung dreds of rodent- and insect-eating raptors archipelagos, scientists recently concluded keep pest numbers in check. In Canadian that even before European explorers sailed to forests, for instance, populations of wood-war- the region, human colonization of Pacific blers and evening grosbeaks surge to match islands wiped out up to 2,000 endemic (that outbreaks of spruce budworm, an insect that is, only found in one place), often flightless can severely damage forests of spruce and fir. bird species. Today, however, people are Losing these birds and others tears the nat- crowding out bird populations on the main- ural fabric of ecosystems. As conservationists land as well.8 learned from species like Spix’s macaw, con- Birds are by no means the only class of ani- serving healthy bird populations early would mals at risk, of course. Prominent scientists prove far simpler than trying to reconstruct now consider the world to be in the midst of them later.6 the sixth great wave of animal extinctions. The In addition, many bird species are easily fifth wave finished off the dinosaurs 65 mil- seen or heard, making them perfect envi- lion years ago. Unlike previous episodes, ronmental indicators. In many cases, they however, people are the cause of most of the provide scientists with the best glimpse at sudden die-offs. One quarter of the world’s

15 State of the World 2003 WATCHING BIRDS DISAPPEAR

ied animal class, a great deal remains to be BOX 2–1. SIGNS OF BIRDS IN learned about them—from their life histories DECLINE to their vulnerability to environmental change. In the tropics, where both avian diversity and • A 1994 study revealed that 195 of 514 habitat loss are greatest—in top biodiversity European bird species—38 percent— countries such as Colombia, the Democratic had “unfavorable conservation status.” In Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), and Great Britain alone, 139 of 247 breeding bird species (56 percent) are in decline, Indonesia—experts just do not know the according to annual surveys. scope of bird declines because many areas • Based on the North American Breeding remain poorly, if at all, surveyed. Species and Bird Survey’s records between 1966 and some distinct populations that may later be 1998, some 28 percent of 403 considered separate species may vanish even thoroughly monitored species showed before scientists can classify them or study statistically significant negative trends. their behavior, let alone their ecological impor- • A BirdLife International study of Asian tance. Several new bird species are described birds published in 2001 found a quarter every year. One of this century’s earliest was of the region’s bird species—664—in an owl discovered in Sri Lanka in 2001, the serious decline or limited to small, first new bird species found there in 132 years. vulnerable populations. • Some Australian ornithologists claim that These scarce and newly described birds sit at half of their island nation’s land bird a crossroads, as does humanity. One path species—including many endemic leads toward continued biodiversity and sus- parrots—could become extinct by the tainability. The other heads toward extinc- end of the century, although recent tion and imbalance.11 breeding bird surveys chronicled little difference in status for most species over Habitat Loss: the past 20 years. The Greatest Threat SOURCE: See endnote 8. Many of the problems faced by birds and other wildlife stem from how we handle our real estate. The human population explosion mammal species are threatened or nearly from 1.6 billion to 6 billion during the last threatened with extinction; of the other well- century fueled widespread habitat loss that surveyed species, 25 percent of reptiles, 21 chiseled once-extensive wilderness into waver- percent of amphibians, and 30 percent of ing habitat islands. Today, loss or damage to fish are threatened.9 species’ living spaces poses by far the great- But if we focus solely on the prospects of est threat to birds and biodiversity in general.12 extinction, we partly miss the point. From an Timber operations, farms, pastures, and ecological perspective, extinction is but the settlements have already claimed almost half last stage in a spiraling degeneration that of the world’s forests. Between the 1960s and sends a thriving species slipping toward obliv- 1990s, about 4.5 million square kilometers ion. Species stop functioning as critical com- of the world’s tropical forest cover—20 per- ponents of their ecosystems well before they cent—were cut or burned. Estimates of completely disappear.10 annual deforestation vary widely, from Although birds are probably the best-stud- 50,000 to 170,000 square kilometers. Per-

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Table 2–1.Ten Recently Extinct Bird Species

Atitlán Grebe Gone by 1986, this flightless aquatic bird lived only in Guatemala. Introduced bass, habitat loss, disturbance, and gill nets contributed to its demise. Colombian Grebe Last seen in 1977 in Colombia, where a combination of introduced trout, pesticide poisoning, wetland loss, and hunting finished it off. Wake Island Rail A casualty of World War II, between 1942 and 1945 this island endemic was likely captured and eaten into extinction by starving Japanese soldiers. Canary Islands Seen perhaps as recently as 1981, this shorebird succumbed to loss of its mollusk Oystercatcher prey due to overharvesting by humans, probable predation by introduced cats and rats, and disturbance by people frequenting its coastal habitats. Paradise Parrot Probably extinct by 1927, this colorful Australian parrot likely died out due to combined factors including overgrazing, drought, fire suppression, invading exotic prickly pear cacti, disease, trapping, egg collection, introduced predators, and loss of eucalyptus trees. Bush Wren A ground-nesting bird rousted from New Zealand by introduced predators by 1972. Grand CaymanThrush Last seen in 1938, this wetland songbird disappeared with its habitat. Aldabra Warbler Discovered in 1967, this bird was gone by 1983 from its namesake Indian Ocean island due to rat predation and habitat degradation wrought by introduced goats and native tortoises. Guam Flycatcher Along with the island’s other native birds, this bird was eaten out of its Pacific island home by introduced brown tree snakes by 1983. Kaua’i ‘O’o Last reported in 1987, this Hawaiian forest bird suffered from habitat loss, predation by introduced black rats, and diseases introduced by exotic mosquitoes.

SOURCE: Alison J. Stattersfield and David R. Capper, eds.,Threatened Birds of the World (Barcelona: Lynx Edi- cions, 2000). haps easier to track are dwindling populations of tree cover do not tell us how much of the of creatures that must live beneath the trees: regrown habitat is indeed quality habitat.14 habitat loss jeopardizes 1,008 (85 percent) In the southeastern United States over of the world’s most threatened bird species, the last five years, for instance, more than with recent tropical forest destruction affect- 150 industrial chip mills have chewed up vast ing 74 percent.13 tracts of natural forest to produce paper, Foresters herald the regrowth of temper- rayon, and pressboard. Foresters replace the ate forests as an environmental success story, clearcut area with rows of same-age, same- and in recent decades substantial reforestation species pine saplings. For many native animals did take place in, for example, the eastern and plants, simplified plantation monocul- United States, China, and Europe. Forest tures are no substitute for more complex nat- management profoundly affects diversity and ural forests, with their old, young, living, natural balances, however, and satellite images dead, deciduous, and coniferous trees and

17 State of the World 2003 WATCHING BIRDS DISAPPEAR their lush, varied undergrowth.15 often requires higher chemical inputs such as Even without plantations, the consistent harmful pesticides, while weedy growth or loss of some forest components can cause hedgerows—once wildlife-hospitable com- birds to abandon areas. For example, studies ponents of more traditional, smaller farms— in intensively managed Finnish forests, where vanished to make way for large machinery and foresters remove older and dead trees, revealed larger areas of cropland. The last strongholds marked declines in large forest birds such as for many grassland species, including large a peacock-sized grouse called the capercaillie areas in Portugal, Spain, and central and east- and the crow-sized black woodpecker.16 ern European countries, are under or will Losses of other habitats important to birds soon be under severe pressure from increased and other wildlife have been less heralded, but irrigation and modernization programs sub- no less dramatic. Grasslands, which cloak sidized by the European Union’s Common more than a third of Earth’s surface, sustain Agricultural Policy.19 bird populations found nowhere else, but Grassland remains on about 60 percent they also host almost one sixth of the human of its original span in Asia, Africa, and Aus- population. Few large, undisturbed grassland tralia, although much of it is degraded. One areas remain. In North America, the great widespread threat is overgrazing. In many grasslands that once stretched from the Mis- areas, light grazing helps maintain healthy sissippi to the base of the Rocky Mountains grasslands. But the picture quickly changes are largely gone, including the tallgrass prairie, when a threshold, which varies by region, is of which less than 4 percent remains.17 passed. And overgrazing is often but one of Following this widespread landscape several threats to these ecosystems.20 change, many North American grassland For example, 10 of the world’s 25 bustard bird populations continue to shrivel, accord- species are either threatened with extinction ing to the U.S. Geological Survey’s annual or close to it due to widespread overgrazing, North American Breeding Bird Survey. collisions with fog- or darkness-shrouded Between 1966 and 1998, 15 of 28 charac- power lines, and hunting. The turkey-sized teristic grassland bird species steadily great bustard, once found from Britain to declined. The victims include the burrowing China, has just a few Spanish, Russian, and owl and other birds that maintained ecolog- Chinese strongholds and is disappearing from ical relationships with once-abundant prairie widely scattered populations elsewhere.21 dogs. After the colonial rodents’ populations A close relative, the Australian bustard, plummeted by 98 percent, the owls, which no longer stalks most of the southeastern nest in old prairie dog burrows, are gone part of its namesake country due to intro- from much of their former breeding range. duced rabbits and livestock, which chew down Even in the largest remaining swath of tall- habitat, and to fire restrictions, which allow grass prairie—the Flint Hills region of Kansas the intrusion of acacias and other woody and Oklahoma—the once-abundant greater plants into grasslands. Argentina’s grasslands prairie-chicken is rapidly losing ground due face a similar onslaught brought on by to recently intensified burning and cattle “exotic” trees—pines and eucalyptus intro- grazing methods.18 duced at nearby tree plantations invade grass- In Europe, agriculture covers about half of lands to the detriment of native birds and the land. Most of this excludes grassland other wildlife.22 birds because intensive, modern cultivation Many birds flourish where land and water

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mix—in wooded swamps, marshes, mangrove Outside protected areas, changes have forests, coastal mudflats, and other wetlands. been far more dramatic. Over the last 70 Until recently, humanity saw these areas as dis- years, Armenia’s Lake Sevan suffered dra- ease-ridden wilderness asking to be con- matic lowering due to water diversion, and quered. Draining, filling, and conversion to Lake Gilli was drained entirely. With their farmlands or cities destroyed an estimated vital wetlands destroyed, at least 31 locally half of the world’s wetlands during the twen- breeding bird species abandoned the lakes, tieth century. Estimates within individual including the sensitive black stork and the countries are often much higher. Spain, for more adaptable lesser black-backed gull.27 instance, has lost an estimated 60–70 percent of its wetland area since the 1940s.23 Wetlands serve as key stopover Even wilderness areas such as Everglades sites for millions of transcontinental National Park, in the United States, and migrants. Spain’s Doñana National Park have not been spared humanity’s heavy hand. In and around A 1999 survey of 47 wetland sites in these two greatly compromised protected Morocco found that only 10 had protected areas—both of which are classified as Bios- status and that most faced threats from devel- phere Reserves, World Heritage Sites, and opment, habitat alteration, and exotic fish Ramsar wetlands of international impor- introductions. Researchers compared descrip- tance—hydrology has been disrupted, exotic tions from a similar survey of 24 of these plants and animals have invaded, and pesti- sites in 1978 and found that 25 percent of the cides and other pollutants wash in from wetlands were destroyed in two decades.28 nearby farms and industries.24 Aside from being vital nesting grounds One of Spain’s greatest environmental dis- for birds, wetlands also serve as key stopover asters occurred in 1998, when a mine reser- sites for millions of transcontinental migrants, voir just north of Doñana burst, flushing particularly on coasts, along rivers, or in bays 1.58 million gallons of heavy metal–laden where birds pause to rest and refuel before water down the Guadiamar River, reaching or after transoceanic journeys. Major exam- well into the park’s buffer zone. Thousands ples of these rest spots include China’s Deep of birds and fish died, and reproduction will Bay, Surinam’s coastal mudflats, Alaska’s likely be impaired in birds and other aquatic Copper River Delta, and Australia’s Gulf of life for years to come.25 Carpentaria.29 Declining bird populations followed habi- Other concentration points favored by tat degradation in both parks. For example, migrating storks, hawks, and myriad songbirds bird census-takers counted 5,100 white ibis include narrow land corridors such as those in the Everglades between 1997 and 1999— at Gibraltar, Turkey’s Bosporus Strait, Eilat in more than 45 times fewer than were esti- Israel, Point Pelee in Canada, and the coastal mated to nest there in the 1930s. In Doñana Mexican city of Veracruz. At many of these National Park, the once-abundant but now- sites, development shrinks wetlands and other threatened marbled duck barely breeds within habitats. This means that more migrating the park’s borders most years because birds must pack into smaller and smaller increased demand for irrigation, among other spaces, increasing the likelihood of botulism factors, means that marshes dry up by August, and other outbreaks that can kill thousands before these wetland birds finish nesting.26 of birds.30

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In many parts of the world, flat lowland cation that optimal redstart wintering areas are areas have been the first to be exploited for already saturated and limited, and implies timber or farming. More difficult to clear that although birds can winter in compro- and cultivate, mountains often hold their mised habitats, they may be less fit to com- habitats longer against human endeavors. In pete and breed.34 many countries, including Jamaica and Mex- In many cases, Neotropical migratory ico (in terms of the country’s dry forest), birds’ winter ranges are more compact than much of the remaining habitat is found only their nesting areas, putting concentrated win- in prohibitively steep terrain.31 tering populations at greater risk from habi- Once targeted, though, mountain habitats tat loss. For instance, the Oklahoma state and wildlife are extremely vulnerable. Altitude bird—the scissor-tailed flycatcher—nests and moisture levels dictate vegetation and throughout that state, in most of Texas and wildlife occurrence there, creating narrow Kansas, and in portions of Arkansas, Mis- ribbons of habitat. Humans and migrant birds souri, and Louisiana. During the winter, how- alike particularly favor temperate and rain- ever, most of the population packs into an area soaked middle elevations. In the Andes, of northwestern Costa Rica about the size of Himalayas, and Central American highlands, one Texas county.35 among other areas, middle-elevation forests Quite a different situation exists for many are highly degraded, creating severe erosion tropical birds that do not migrate, many of problems, fouling watersheds vital to human which live year-round in small areas. All told, populations, and providing less and less area just over a quarter of all bird species—2,623— for wintering and resident birds.32 have ranges that are at most the size of Costa The blazing orange-and-black black- Rica or Denmark (about 50,000 square kilo- burnian warbler is one bird affected by the meters). More than half of these species are widespread loss of mid-elevation Andean threatened or near-threatened; 62 are now forests. Weighing just a third of an ounce, this extinct. Within their limited ranges, many of colorful insect-eater nests in North American these localized species are pigeonholed into spruce and hemlock forests but winters 8,000 only those prime habitats that remain. Even kilometers away in northwestern South in these last havens, other factors often come America. Conservationists expect a dip in into play, nudging populations closer to blackburnian warbler populations, a scenario extinction.36 faced by many of the 200 or so other Neotropical migrant birds—species that nest Falling to Pieces north of the Tropic of Cancer but winter in Mexico, the Caribbean, or Central or South Ecologically speaking, what happens around America.33 a habitat is as important to its denizens as A recent study of another warbler, the what happens inside it. In recent years, this American redstart, used carbon isotopes to revelation began guiding conservationists, determine wintering habitats of birds migrat- who now view protected areas as part of ing to New Hampshire to breed. The findings larger landscapes that function together to suggest that earlier-arriving, healthier birds support or thwart species. When habitats— winter in humid tropical forests, while weaker, and mosaics blending different habitats—are less competitive individuals settle for diced into smaller and smaller pieces, they degraded, drier habitats. This is a likely indi- often suffer from edge effect, or the negative

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influences of an edge on a habitat’s interior.37 Roads and power lines frequently cut For instance, when loggers remove a large through forests, increasing the chance of fatal swath of trees, light-tolerant plants move into collisions and providing pathways for edge the clearing and the adjacent forest’s edge. predators, competitors, and exotic plants. Sunlight penetrates farther into the forest Traffic noise may also interfere with birds’ than before, raising temperatures, drying out attempts to mark territory through song. Via the forest floor, and increasing the likelihood roads, humans and their livestock gain easier of fires or of wind or drought damage. Edge access to forest fragments, removing under- effect stresses or kills shade-adapted plants, growth and dead, standing trees important to leaving them to dry up or to become more parrots, woodpeckers, and other cavity-nest- susceptible to disease or invading competitors. ing birds.41 Researchers studying forest fragments in cen- In equatorial Africa, Amazonia, tropical tral Brazilian Amazonia found that the Asia, and other regions where forestry roads amount of above-ground vegetation was cut into large remaining tropical forests, inten- greatly reduced, especially within 100 meters sive hunting—made easier thanks to roads— of fragment edges, due in good part to is also widespread. In equatorial Africa and increased tree mortality.38 some other areas, hunters shoot wildlife not After trees fall, remaining forest fragments only for subsistence but to supply burgeon- may no longer provide an ideal habitat for for- ing urban delicacy markets. On the island of est interior birds, which must contend with New Guinea, increasing hunting pressure, the invasion of creatures that thrive in more aided by recent road construction, threatens open areas. In forest fragments, North Amer- a growing number of endemic bird-of-par- ican forest birds face larger predator popula- adise species.42 tions and brown-headed cowbirds. Rather Coming at the fragmentation issue from than building their own nests, cowbirds lay the other side, some researchers highlight the their eggs in nests of host bird species, often importance of intact “source” areas—refugia to the detriment of the hosts’ young. In some that produce surplus birds that may later dis- highly fragmented forests, cowbird eggs turn perse to take up slack in more stressed, less up in up to 90 percent of wood thrush and productive “sink” areas such as woodlands 80 percent of warbling vireo nests.39 carved up by suburbs. A 1996–98 survey that When isolated in small forest patches, took place mostly within Cherokee and Nan- many southeastern Australian birds decline tahala-Pisgah national forests in the south- because aggressive, edge-favoring birds called eastern United States compared results with noisy miners out-compete them for food and surveys done at the same sites 50 years earlier. nesting places. Conservationists now recom- Researchers found that this extensive area mend setting aside large forest reserves as “retained and probably regained functional one of the only ways to protect smaller, less integrity for forest birds during the latter half aggressive species, including many insect-eat- of the 20th century.” Opportunistic, nest-rob- ing birds that live within the miners’ breed- bing blue jays declined during this time, while ing range. A similar recommendation is made nest-parasitizing cowbirds, lacking open feed- for wood thrushes in highly fragmented mid- ing areas nearby, were virtually absent. western U.S. forests. Specialized insectivorous Neotropical migrants declining in many other birds also suffer from fragmentation in other places held steady or increased in these large parts of the world, including Japan.40 forest reserves.43

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An Alien and Danger-Filled Ark habitat loss, hunting, and, in most cases, exotic species. In many cases, introduced Visit a Hawaiian garden, and you’ll likely see mongooses, rats, pigs, and other non-native Brazilian red-crested cardinals and Asian com- animals have unsettled unique island ecolog- mon mynas, but you will be hard-pressed to ical balances.46 find a native bird. Stroll city streets in North One reptilian invader, the brown tree America, South Africa, and Australia, and snake, ate 12 of Guam’s 14 land bird species you may find introduced European starlings, into extinction by the 1980s after its acci- house sparrows, and feral pigeons at your dental release following World War II. In feet. What’s happening here? Even in other- recent years, this snake has also turned up at wise-undisturbed wildlife habitats, a new Hawaiian airports, raising fears that it could order is taking hold as exotic, or non-native, become the latest—and one of the great- species—from pathogens to mongooses— est—threats introduced there.47 are introduced through human blunder, Introduced rats plague many island-nest- curiosity, or in hopes of providing food or ing seabirds, including albatrosses and petrels. other goods and services, including control Having found their way to islands via explor- of other rampaging exotics. Over the past ers’ or colonists’ ships, or more recently fish- century, the pace of introductions greatly ing boats, the opportunistic rodents now accelerated in parallel with the rise in global dine on bird eggs and young. A recent study trade and travel.44 on New Zealand’s northern offshore islands revealed that rats not only threaten the islands’ Due to their apparent lack of nesting petrels, they also eat native plants’ immunity, North American birds today seeds, stifling the distribution of 11 out of 17 coastal trees and bringing some close to local factor as key indicators of the spread extinction.48 of West Nile virus. One of humanity’s constant companions is another nemesis of wild birds. On far-flung Today, exotics threaten birds and their islands, house and feral cats have contributed ecosystems in myriad ways, constituting the to the extinction of 22 or more endemic second most intense threat to birds world- birds. Their effect on mainland wildlife pop- wide, after habitat loss and degradation. (For ulations is also great. Studies in Australia in threatened species, however, exotics rank the early 1990s documented domesticated third, behind exploitation, particularly hunt- and feral cats killing members of almost a ing and capture for the cage bird trade.) quarter of the country’s 750 bird species. Introduced species contributed to most bird Annually, cats kill an estimated 1 billion birds extinctions since 1800, and they now menace in the United States, where at least 40 million a quarter of globally threatened bird species.45 house cats regularly roam free and another Once introduced, some exotic predators 60–100 million cats live in a feral state. U.S. became all the more lethal on islands, where cats kill at least nine federally listed species, endemic species evolved with few or no among many other victims, including beach- defenses against such hunters. To date, 93 nesting least terns and piping plovers.49 percent of bird extinctions (119 out of 128) Tiny predators plague other birds. The have occurred on islands, where extremely yellow crazy ant, a frenetic, fast-multiplying vulnerable endemic species succumbed to insect, is marching across the Australian ter-

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ritory of Christmas Island following its intro- ble. On the Hawaiian Islands, mosquitoes, duction there during the twentieth century. which originally landed in the archipelago in Recently, biologists documented the insects ship-carried water barrels in 1826, unleashed killing the islands’ abundant land crabs. Like a pair of deadly diseases—avian pox and avian many other ant species, crazy ants “farm” malaria—upon the island’s non-immune native scale insects—herding and protecting these birds. These diseases arrived via introduced forest-damaging insects and drinking a sweet birds and were injected into natives by the secretion they extrude while destroying rain- mosquitoes, contributing to at least 10 extinc- forest trees.50 tions and potentially fueling dozens more. As they spread across the island, crazy ants Weakened, native Hawaiian birds become will likely kill young native birds, including even more vulnerable to introduced birds that those of two critically endangered species— compete with them for food and habitat.53 the endemic Christmas Island hawk-owl and Whether introduced, naturally occurring, Abbott’s booby, a seabird that nests nowhere or strengthened by unnatural conditions, else but in the island’s forest canopy. In com- other diseases threaten birds. India’s once- ing decades, both species are expected to abundant long-billed and white-rumped vul- decline 80 percent due to the ant invasion. ture populations have crashed—plummeting Introduced crazy ants also threaten birds on more than 90 percent country-wide during the the Hawaiian and Seychelles islands and on last decade—most likely due to a virus or Tanzania’s Zanzibar.51 other contagious illness. A decade ago, these In North American forests, sap-feeding birds swarmed over abundant cow carcasses insects called hemlock and balsam wooly adel- that litter fields and dumps around Indian gids are changing habitats’ ability to support cities and towns. Now they are listed as crit- birds and other flora and fauna. These acci- ically endangered. In their sudden absence, dentally introduced insects now spread by feral dog, crow, and rat populations have wind and via birds’ feathers and mammals’ fur. exploded, taking up the slack in scavengers and First a threat to western forests, the hem- posing great health risks to people nearby.54 lock wooly adelgid, originally from Asia, Due to their apparent lack of immunity, moved east by the 1950s and is now eradi- North American birds today factor as key cating Carolina and eastern hemlocks, impor- indicators of the spread of West Nile virus, tant components of eastern woodlands. which first appeared in New York in 1999. Meanwhile, the European balsam wooly adel- This mosquito-borne disease, present in Africa gid attacks balsam and Fraser firs in north- and Eurasia for decades, has killed scores of eastern and Appalachian forests. Heavy loss of people in the United States so far. West Nile Fraser firs leaves intermingled red spruce virus has taken a far higher toll on birds, more vulnerable to wind damage, changing killing thousands of birds in more than 100 the face of forests in such important bird species and putting endangered species breed- breeding “source” areas as the Great Smoky ing programs in peril. To date, no one knows Mountains National Park. A recent study in if transported pet birds, humans, or—less a fir-damaged area found that the combined likely—trans-Atlantic migrant birds brought density of all breeding birds declined by half the illness.55 and that 10 of 11 common breeding birds Predators and pathogens aside, native birds had declined.52 also face both genetic and direct competition Sometimes introduced dangers are invisi- from exotic birds. For example, people around

23 State of the World 2003 WATCHING BIRDS DISAPPEAR the world have dumped familiar domesticated South American ornamental that now runs mallard ducks into ponds and other wetlands. amok, shading out native plant life in more In various countries, these green-headed than half of Tahiti’s forests. Many scientists waterfowl vigorously interbreed with closely consider this striated, broad-leafed plant to be related species, “swamping” or undermining one of the greatest threats to Hawaii’s remain- the native species’ genetic variability. Such ing native forests as well; there it covers about hybridization affects South Africa’s yellow- 4,400 hectares.58 billed ducks, endangered Hawaiian ducks, In Florida, millions of wintering American American black ducks, and mottled ducks. A robins and other native birds eat Brazilian similar problem occurs in Spain. There, threat- pepper berries and scatter their seeds across ened white-headed ducks—already pinched by the Everglades and other wild areas. Brazil- habitat loss—now mingle and hybridize with ian pepper, one of the most widespread exotic North American ruddy ducks, which were plants in the state, is now found on at least introduced to England in the 1940s but have 324,000 hectares, including 40,400 hectares since flown over to the continent. New Euro- of mangrove forest in Everglades National pean legislation aims to curb ruddy duck Park. Similarly, the introduced common myna numbers through hunting.56 is dispersing pervasive South American lantana Introduced plants create their own, very bush’s seeds in Asia.59 different dangers, changing birds’ habitats Although overlooked by novice nature- until they are eventually uninhabitable. lovers, exotic plants now dominate many Whether brought over as nursery stock, landscapes. Controlling well-established planted with the blessing of farm programs, exotics is neither cheap nor easy. For exam- or seeded by accident, exotic plant species ple, perhaps 5 percent of 283 million hectares have gone wild in many parts of the world— (700 million acres) of public land is “seriously at the expense of birds and other wildlife. infested” in the United States, where at least One of North America’s worst plant invaders 400 exotic plant species have gone out of illustrates the point. Brought over from Eura- control. No longer can we think that nature sia, rapid-growing cheatgrass has spread far can right itself if left alone.60 and wide since its introduction to North Dealing with exotic introductions often America in the late 1800s. As it overtakes requires active management, including hunt- sagebrush and bunchgrass habitats, cheat- ing, poisoning, herbicide spraying, and in grass fuels the decline of such sage-dependent some cases introducing natural predators of birds as the sage grouse, which nests among the out-of-control exotic—activities that can sagebrush shrubs and depends on their leaves also potentially disturb or harm native birds and shoots for food. Cheatgrass is now found and other wildlife. In the United States alone, on more than 40 million hectares, an area the annual cost of damage caused by exotics larger than Germany, and dominates much of and the measures to control them reaches that grassland and pasture.57 an estimated $137 billion.61 Unknowingly, birds use their formidable seed-distributing abilities to further spread Bullets, Cages, Hooks, invasive exotic plants. This is happening, for and Chemicals example, on the Pacific island of Tahiti and in the Hawaiian islands, where birds distribute It is hard not to marvel at tiny birds’ mighty seeds of the fast-spreading miconia tree, a migratory abilities and delight in their return

24 State of the World 2003 WATCHING BIRDS DISAPPEAR

each year. In some regions, however, human Eurasian tree sparrows, are being unsustain- attention to migrants poses an environmen- ably killed for bite-sized snacks. Despite a tal problem: unregulated hunting along government ban on killing these birds, since migration routes kills huge numbers of birds the early 1990s more than 100,000 a year each fall and spring. The Mediterranean island have been caught, killed, frozen, and then nation of Malta has long had one of the most fried and sold—from Beijing to Guandong.64 publicized problems. There, throughout While many small species are targeted, spring and fall migration, hunters take aim at robust species attract even more attention. island-hopping birds during their flights north Among the first wildlife species to disappear to mainland European nesting grounds and from Central and South American forest frag- south to African wintering areas.62 ments are turkey-like birds called curassows, Officially protected birds, from swallows chachalacas, and guans, 15 of which are and bee-eaters to harriers and herons, fall to threatened with extinction. Large, nonmi- Maltese shooters in staggering numbers. Most gratory, and palatable, these herbivores feed of this hunting is just target practice, and on forest fruits, seeds, leaves, and flowers, hurts already declining European nesting and some are important seed dispersers.65 bird populations. Birds, mainly finches, are also illegally trapped as cage birds: in 2001, Almost a third of the world’s 330 the nongovernmental organization (NGO) parrot species are threatened with BirdLife Malta used aerial photography to identify more than 5,300 trapping sites, extinction due to habitat loss and mainly along the coastlines of the country’s collecting pressures. two largest islands, Malta and Gozo. Thanks in good part to NGOs’ efforts, public outcry Even where hunting laws protect rare has grown in recent years, and the Maltese guans, such as in Mexico in the case of the government recently passed more stringent horned guan, there is insufficient enforce- hunting laws. Enforcement remains lax, how- ment. Large, roadless forest tracts provide ever, and the hunting lobby is strong. As of the best refuge for these birds, but such real October 2002, the government was wavering estate is now hard to come by in Central as to whether to loosen hunting restrictions. America and parts of South America. Else- BirdLife Malta estimates that 3 million birds where, unregulated hunting threatens other are shot or trapped in Malta each year.63 large birds, including 22 localized Asian Meanwhile, illegal hunting and trapping of pheasant species.66 protected birds of prey and songbirds remain Hunting is less of a threat for parrots, problems in other parts of Europe, including long loved by people the world over for their Cyprus (another important migration colorful plumages, potential affection toward stopover), Greece, France, Spain, and Italy, their owners, and, in many species, adept although growing public support for con- “talking” abilities. For these attributes, wild servation efforts has helped reduce this threat, parrot populations suffer greatly from the particularly in the latter two countries. On the wild bird trade. Almost a third of the world’s other side of Eurasia, an upswing in com- 330 parrot species are threatened with extinc- mercial hunting of Chinese songbirds raises tion due to habitat loss and collecting pres- concerns that migratory and resident species, sures, part of a burgeoning illegal wildlife including yellow-breasted buntings and trade valued at billions of dollars a year.67

25 State of the World 2003 WATCHING BIRDS DISAPPEAR

Over the last decade, protection measures South America’s yellow cardinal and a cherry- helped reduce the international trade in wild red bird called the red siskin, both of which parrots. These initiatives include the Con- have been collected almost to extinction in vention on International Trade in Endan- their remaining habitats. Without concerted gered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, which in-country efforts to stem unbridled collect- protects rare species from the wildlife trade ing, these and other species will likely disap- (see Table 2–2), and wild bird export bans in pear.69 Australia, Guyana, and other countries. The Far from South American forests, another 1992 Wild Bird Conservation Act in the threat looms. Seemingly endless ocean United States, which limits or prohibits exotic expanses provide an undulating backdrop for wild bird imports, greatly reduced wild bird large-scale seabird die-offs brought on by imports and fueled a growing U.S. captive- commercial longline fishing. At least 23 breeding industry.68 seabird species now face extinction largely But protection laws in many parrot-rich due to this industry, which became domi- countries often go unheeded, and parrot nant worldwide following the 1993 ban on poaching and smuggling remain widespread, drift-nets, hulking devices that scooped up due to both domestic and international enormous quantities of untargeted sea crea- demand. In addition to parrots, bird traders tures. Today, longline boats set their lines, seek many other colorful species, including which can be 130 kilometers long and stud-

Table 2–2. Some International Agreements That Help Conserve Birds

Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (1971) Nearly 1,200 wetland sites in 133 countries, totaling 103 million hectares, have been designated for protec- tion and monitoring under this international agreement to conserve wetlands and use them sustainably. Programme on Man and the Biosphere (1972) and World Heritage Convention (1972) Under UNESCO, these initiatives set a framework for designating, protecting, and monitoring some of the world’s most important biodiversity and cultural hotspots.As of May 2002, 94 countries had established a total of 408 biosphere reserves under the Man and the Biosphere Programme. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (1975) An international agreement by 160 countries to monitor international trade in wild animals and plants and ensure that trade does not put wildlife in jeopardy. Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (1983) Eighty countries have signed this agreement, also known as the Bonn Convention, to protect migratory wildlife species, including birds, throughout their international migratory, breeding, and wintering areas. Convention on Biodiversity (1992) A total of 185 countries have signed on to this agreement, which was introduced at the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992. Signatories promise to set up strategies for protecting their biodiversity, including habitat protection and restoration. Fewer than 40 have drawn up formal plans so far.

SOURCE: Convention and program Web sites.

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ded with up to 12,000 baited hooks, later gal fishing, which depletes not only bird but hauling them in to collect commercial fish also fish stocks. The U.N. Food and Agri- such as tuna, swordfish, cod, and halibut. culture Organization encourages countries Unfortunately, hundreds of thousands of to draw up their own national plans of action seabirds drop down on the lines before they for voluntarily reducing longlining bird kills.73 sink, grabbing at bait and becoming hooked, The specter of oil spills also hangs over only to be submerged and drowned.70 many seabird populations. An unprecedented Among the birds hard-hit by this activity volume of oil crosses the seas these days, pro- are 17 of the world’s 24 albatross species. viding a human-transported disaster waiting These slow-breeding, slow-maturing ocean- to happen at any time. African, Magellanic, wanderers—many already under pressure at Galápagos, and five other penguin species their remote nesting sites from introduced are among the many seabirds affected by oil predators—are suffering staggering losses. spills near their nesting and feeding areas.74 For instance, from 1997 to 2000, illegal or Large-scale spills highlight oil’s effects on “pirate” longlining in southern oceans killed ecosystems and birds. The 1989 Exxon an estimated 333,000 seabirds, including Valdez spill, for instance, perhaps killed more 67,000 albatrosses. An estimated 10 percent than 250,000 birds, and a 1999 spill off of of the black-footed albatross’s breeding pop- France’s Brittany Coast killed an estimated ulation perishes each year on longlines set in 100,000–200,000 birds of at least 40 differ- the North Pacific.71 ent species. But small, less-publicized, daily To date, no adjustments have been made tanker leaks also kill birds.75 in fishing practices, despite recent findings that The Galápagos Islands—a cradle of simple measures can reduce bird bycatch by endemic species and inspiration for Darwin’s more than 90 percent. Such measures include evolutionary theories—were similarly threat- installing bird-scaring streamers, setting nets ened by oil in 2001, when 150,000 gallons at night, and adding weights to lines so that leaked from an Ecuadorian tanker. The they sink faster. At least 33 countries have spreading spill seemed likely to mire many of longline fleets plying the world’s waters; the archipelago’s aquatic species, including sea prominent players include Canada, China, lions, unique marine iguanas, the world’s Japan, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan, and the rarest gull, and Galápagos penguins. Fortu- United States.72 nately, the current swept much of the slick This situation may soon change, however. clear of the islands, so dozens rather than In 2001, seven countries—Australia (which thousands of birds and sea lions died. Some initiated the plan in 1997), Brazil, Chile, scientists believe, however, that small quan- France, New Zealand, Peru, and the United tities of oil killed the bacteria in the algae-eat- Kingdom—signed the Agreement for the ing iguanas’ guts, causing many to starve. If Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, that proves true, this incident highlights the under the Bonn Convention. When ratified, impacts that even smaller amounts of spilled this treaty will legally bind signatories to oil can have on wildlife.76 reduce longlining bycatch of seabirds and to Trade in oil is but one industry that pol- implement other seabird conservation mea- lutes the environment, as can be seen in bird sures. One challenge will be to get boats to populations’ reactions to the poisoning of use these measures uniformly. And then there their habitats. Effluents released by factories is the problem of regulating and policing ille- into surrounding waters leave telltale marks

27 State of the World 2003 WATCHING BIRDS DISAPPEAR

on bird populations. A recent study of tree DDT has not gone away even where it is swallows breeding in the PCB-contaminated now banned: this pesticide persists in soil Hudson River seemed to show that young and water even in places where its use was dis- females there molt into adult coloration ear- continued 30 years ago.79 lier, a possible sign that the birds’ endocrine Although not as persistent, some of the systems have been disrupted by contami- new generation of pesticides, including nants.77 organophosphates and carbamates, are more In the 1970s and early 1980s, biologists toxic to birds. One of the most dramatic and toxicologists monitored severe deformi- recent examples of pesticides’ danger to birds ties and breeding troubles in fish-eating Great came from the Argentinean pampas, where, Lakes birds. Since Canadian and U.S. efforts in the winter of 1995, an estimated 20,000 to stem industrial contaminants such as PCBs Swainson’s hawks—about 5 percent of the and DDE began in the late 1970s, the pop- population—died after feeding in alfalfa and ulations of herring gulls and double-crested sunflower fields sprayed with the insecticide cormorants have grown, and the bald eagle monocrotophos.80 returned to the region. But scientists continue In autumn, these western North American to keep tabs on birds and fish to assess indus- nesters fly 6,000–12,000 kilometers south trial threats not only to wildlife but also to to feed in flocks on field insects during the human health. They still note bird deformi- southern spring and summer. Due to public ties and breeding troubles in heavily indus- outcry from NGOs and government agencies trialized parts of the Great Lakes.78 in the United States, Canada, and Argentina, a major manufacturer of the organophos- Even within protected wetland areas, phate insecticide, Ciba-Geigy (now Novartis), agreed to phase out its sales in areas where the thousands of birds die each year from hawks winter. The Argentinean government lead poisoning. also banned its use there.81 Pesticides also affect birds indirectly, either Chemicals also threaten birds far outside killing off their prey or destroying vegetation heavily industrialized zones. Worldwide, both they need for shelter and nesting. British gray in water and on land, pesticides kill millions partridges, for example, declined after insec- of birds. For example, the persistent ticides reduced their chicks’ invertebrate prey organochlorine pesticide DDT builds up in and herbicides withered wild plants among predatory birds’ tissues and causes widespread which they nest and feed. Bustards, skylarks, nesting failure—as was seen in the United and other birds living on agricultural lands States and Britain during the 1950s and suffer similar effects.82 1960s. After U.S. law banned DDT in 1972, Even within many protected wetland areas, the country’s peregrine falcon, bald eagle, thousands of birds die each year from another osprey, and brown pelican populations form of chemical threat—lead poisoning. rebounded. Similar rebounds occurred in Carefully regulated hunting is frequently an Britain in such raptors as sparrowhawks after integrated part of bird conservation efforts. a ban was initiated there. In 2001, 120 coun- In fact, hunters continue to be instrumental tries signed a pesticide treaty that included a in setting aside vital conservation lands in phaseout of DDT except for limited use in North America, Europe, and elsewhere. But controlling malaria. (See Chapter 4.) But one traditional hunting tool—lead shot—

28 State of the World 2003 WATCHING BIRDS DISAPPEAR

poses grave threats not only to waterfowl most of the world.85 but to eagles and other wildlife. Waterfowl are Skyscrapers and television, radio, and cell- most at risk because they guzzle down spent phone towers kill millions of night-flying shot either instead of the pebbles they seek as migrants each year, especially during cloudy grit or by accident when rooting underwater or foggy nights. In the United States alone, for food. Several weeks after ingesting the communications towers may kill up to 40 shot, the slowly poisoned birds die. Eagles and million birds annually. The structures’ puls- other scavengers feeding on shot ducks also ing red lights distract the birds, which use succumb to lead poisoning.83 light as one of their migratory cues. Many col- A growing number of countries, including lide with towers or their guy wires while cir- the United States, Canada, and many in cling the lights. Depending upon weather Europe, have banned lead shot. But many conditions, the death tolls can be staggering: others have not. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife During just one cloudy night in January Service estimates that in 1997 alone, the 1998, between 5,000 and 10,000 lapland nationwide ban on lead shot used for water- longspurs—sparrow-like birds that breed on fowl hunting prevented 1.4 million duck tundra but winter far south on farms in the poisoning deaths. In 2001, a partial ban United States—died after hitting one 420- began in Spain, where conservationists esti- foot-tall Kansas tower. Between 1957 and mate that up to 70,000 birds die of lead 1994, 121,000 birds of 123 species turned up poisoning each year. A similar fate awaits dead beneath one 960-foot television tower waterfowl ingesting lead fishing sinkers, a in Wisconsin.86 leading cause of death for loons breeding in These threats increase as tall towers and the northeastern United States.84 buildings continue to spread across land- scapes. More than 40,000 towers above 200 Modern Conveniences and feet are found the United States, and this Climate Change figure may double over the next decade due to the proliferation of towers needed for As technologies advance and human settle- mobile phones as well as new digital television ments spread, we tailor the landscape to out- technology. Weather is not the only consid- fit our needs for communication, electricity, eration—location is important. Towers placed modern office space, and other amenities. along migration corridors or hilltops increase Some of these advances are setbacks for birds, the risks to birds. Few companies or govern- which evolved in far different surroundings. ments have addressed this growing problem, Strung across open country, power lines which requires more study to determine the are a leading cause of mortality in Europe’s best measures to minimize the effects of light, white storks, threatened great bustards, and towers, and guy wires, as well as tall buildings. raptors. Birds taking off in foggy or dark Some suggested alternatives include replacing conditions run into the obscured lines. Oth- pulsing red lights with white strobe lights ers are electrocuted when they land on that might be less confusing to migrants and exposed cables atop poles. Studies conducted building lower towers that do not require in Spain, Norway, and elsewhere indicate that deadly guy wires for support.87 putting markers on wires can cut collisions at To the threats posed by these human- least in half. This measure is taken by some made structures must now be added the dan- companies, but it is not yet widespread in gers of human-caused global warming, which

29 State of the World 2003 WATCHING BIRDS DISAPPEAR is hastened by many of the same activities tation and climate models testing moderate that destroy habitat—forest clearing, ram- climate change scenarios predict that globally pant forest fires, road building, and urban threatened spoon-billed sandpipers and red- expansion. Scientists estimate that Earth’s breasted geese may lose respectively 60 and climate warmed 0.3–0.6 degrees Celsius over almost 70 percent of their remaining nesting the past century, and that temperature change habitat as tundra turns to forest.91 will continue and possibly intensify. Already, Global climate change will also likely ecological changes seem to be under way in increase the frequency and severity of weather ecosystems around the world.88 anomalies that pound bird populations. El For one thing, temperate fauna and flora Niño events, when ocean temperatures rise seem to be changing their schedules. Over the and fish stocks fall near many important past few decades, scientists have documented seabird breeding islands, could finish off such earlier flower blooming, butterfly emergence, rare, localized, and declining species such as and frog calling—and earlier bird migration the Galápagos penguin, which has evolved and egg-laying dates in Europe and North and thrived on an equatorial archipelago America. Many temperate bird species’ ranges flushed by cool, fish-rich currents. In addition, are creeping northward. While this might intensified and more-frequent droughts and sound exciting to bird-watchers, it is unclear fires could accompany El Niño and other whether some earlier migrations and north- cycles, both in the tropics and as far north as ward range extensions match rapid habitat Canada’s boreal forests.92 changes. It is unlikely that all natural com- “Additional threats will emerge as climate ponents will shift simultaneously, adjusting continues to change, especially as climate quickly to rapid climate change. Many prob- interacts with other stressors such as habitat ably will not. Habitats may change too quickly fragmentation,” wrote biologist John P. for many species to adapt. Park boundaries McCarty in the journal Conservation Biology may be rendered useless, and many localized in 2001. With climate change upon us, con- species may have no place to go as their habi- servationists and planners must now think tat changes around them.89 of landscapes and protections as more The Kirtland’s warbler, an endangered, dynamic than previously supposed. Barriers localized songbird, may prove to be one such created by human landscape changes will victim. This small, lemon-breasted bird builds likely stifle species’ movements, and conser- its grass-and-leaf nest beneath young stands vation plans will have to take such dangers of jack pine, a tree found from northern into account and be flexible enough to Michigan through much of the lower half of accommodate distribution shifts. Some species Canada. The well-draining sand under the that are found only in cold regions or on warblers’ nests is not found far outside of mountaintops may have no place to go as Michigan, however, and the birds nest in climate changes.93 only a few of that state’s counties. If global warming erases the southern extent of jack Flying Straight: For Birds pines, northward-moving birds might be left and Humanity without well-draining nesting substrate, and nesting may fail.90 In 1998, conservation biologists Russell A. Global warming would endanger more Mittermeier, Norman Myers, and Jorgen B. than just temperate-zone songbirds. Vege- Thomsen wrote in Conservation Biology: “If

30 State of the World 2003 WATCHING BIRDS DISAPPEAR we are to have a real impact on biodiversity working with other NGOs and involving conservation worldwide, it is essential that we local communities in protecting and learning place great emphasis on the biologically most about endemic birds and other wildlife.95 important regions regardless of their political Among BirdLife’s most significant accom- or social situation and do whatever possible plishments in this area has been the identifi- to overcome social and political obstacles.”94 cation of 7,000 important bird areas (IBAs) Decades of field work, computer modeling, in 140 countries—critical bird breeding and and satellite imagery analysis have pinpointed migration spots—and 218 endemic bird areas “hotspots”—areas that harbor dispropor- (EBAs), which are places with the highest tionately high diversity and high numbers of numbers of restricted-range and endemic imperiled bird species. (See also Chapter 3.) species. While not conferring formal pro- BirdLife International has been instrumental tection, these designations offer a frame- in working with organizations, agencies, and work from which to set international, biologists around the world, creating a global national, and local protection priorities. Some partnership that coordinates conservation IBAs and EBAs are already designated pro- efforts. Increasingly, the efforts of this NGO tected areas. Some have active programs to and many others have focused not only on involve local people in protecting the areas. affecting government action but also on (See Box 2–2.) Many, however, remain

BOX 2–2. SAVING BLUE SWALLOWS: LOCAL INVOLVEMENT IS KEY

Glossy and streamer-tailed, the blue swallow first guide, Edward Themba,began work in the catches the eye as it sweeps over moist, Blue Swallow Natural Heritage Site, a montane grasslands in search of insects. But designated important bird area in the village of getting a look at this African species grows Kaapsehoop, close to Kruger National Park. harder each year. Only 1,500 pairs survive in Visiting tourists hire Themba to show them scattered parts of eastern and southern Africa. the birds, although swallow nesting sites are In 2001, a network of conservation groups and kept secret. After spotting swallows, tourists government agencies from 9 of the 10 nations often patronize local businesses, some of home to blue swallows drew up an action which provide Themba with essential market- plan for saving the birds. Such international ing and business support. But birds, tourists, efforts are increasingly common, as birds are and local businesses are not the only beneficia- recognized as knowing no boundaries. One ries of this effort:Themba also leads trips for difference with the swallow plan is an effort to underprivileged students and communities, so train local guides who involve not only tourists that they can appreciate the unique beauty that but local communities in learning about, saving, survives in their area. “The success of this pro- and benefiting from the blue swallow’s ject is inspiring,” says BirdLife South Africa pro- presence. ject coordinator Duan Biggs,“and we are using In South Africa, where the blue swallow is it as a basis model for the expansion of these critically endangered, BirdLife South Africa and types of initiatives to other parts of the coun- the Endangered Species Trust Blue Swallow try and possibly even beyond.” Working Group initiated a development pro- gram for local blue swallow guides. In 2001, its SOURCE: See endnote 96.

31 State of the World 2003 WATCHING BIRDS DISAPPEAR

unprotected and poorly surveyed.96 these areas—and the buffer zones and green Linking IBAs and other key habitats and corridors needed to protect them ade- striking a balance between developed and quately—is critical.98 undeveloped areas will be key in saving birds But park protection measures aside, most in our ever-more-crowded world. Over the of the world remains open to alteration, and past 20 years, the emergence of the multi- people who are hungry and lack alternatives disciplinary field of conservation biology—a cannot embrace or focus on efforts to protect blending of biology, conservation science, natural resources unless they clearly benefit in economics, and social integration—has the bargain. Boosting economic prospects changed the focus of biodiversity protection and educational opportunities—that is, efforts from the park to the landscape level, empowering communities to rise above incorporating not just protected areas but poverty—will allow local people to focus on adjacent lands and water resources and the saving birds and other natural resources for people who inhabit and use them. This land- the future. These conditions are still lacking scape focus increasingly brings conservation in many parts of the world, yet an increasing goals alongside—instead of in confrontation number of efforts highlight the potential for with—business plans.97 conservation and poverty-fighting measures to work in tandem.99 Growing awareness that The growing awareness that biodiversity biodiversity protections can be combined protections can be combined with money- with money-making ventures seems to making ventures seems to be bringing enter- prise and environmentalism together. be bringing enterprise and Nowhere are marriages between commercial environmentalism together. and conservation interests more apparent than within the realm of agriculture, the main The approach is not only progressive but employer and source of income in many also pragmatic, since most of the world’s developing nations.100 remaining wild areas remain in private hands Shade-grown coffee is increasingly popu- or are managed by no one at all. All told, lar, for instance. This crop is grown the tra- between 6.4 and 8.8 percent of Earth’s land ditional way, beneath a tropical forest canopy area falls under some category of formal habi- that also shelters resident and migratory birds. tat protection. These areas are sprinkled across Shade-grown coffee requires far fewer chem- the globe, and many are quite small. Their ical inputs than coffee grown on pesticide- management varies from protection only on heavy “sun coffee” farms. Some large coffee paper to a mixed strategy that includes core shop chains now sell these specialty varieties, areas closed to visitors surrounded by buffers but the largest brand-name companies have that allow recreational and commercial activ- yet to dabble in more environment- and bird- ities. In general, the largest and most bio- friendly coffees.101 logically diverse parks, including Peru’s Manu In addition, cultivations of various fruits, National Park—where up to 1,000 species, cork, cacao (for cocoa), and other crops sup- about 10 percent of the world’s bird species, port many bird species, although they do have been recorded—are the least well staffed not fully substitute for natural forests. Farm and protected, as they are in some of the operations that minimize use of harmful pes- world’s poorest regions. Local support for ticides, such as organic farms and those using

32 State of the World 2003 WATCHING BIRDS DISAPPEAR

integrated pest management, provide more restricted rice growers from burning their diverse food sources and safer habitats for stubble in the fall, the farmers joined with birds.102 conservationists to flood their fields and aug- Some successful incentive programs pay ment available waterfowl habitat in the Sacra- farmers to set aside land for wildlife, water, mento Valley, allowing their stubble to and soil conservation purposes. From 2002 biodegrade instead of going up in smoke. to 2007, for example, about 15.9 million From a pilot project in 1993, the program hectares (39.2 million acres) will be enrolled grew to embrace about 61,000 hectares in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Con- (150,000 acres) by 1998. The valley is an servation Reserve Program (CRP). Hundreds important wintering and migration area for of thousands of farmers enroll land for 10–15 thousands of ducks, geese, ibis, herons, gulls, years—taking it out of production, planting sandpipers, and other wetland birds.106 grasses and trees, restoring wetlands, or graz- Meanwhile, in 2001 the Spanish conser- ing or harvesting hay in a way compatible with vation group SEO/BirdLife established an wildlife and erosion control. Although some organic rice-growing farm adjacent to one of grasses used in this program are invasive Spain’s most important remaining wetlands exotics, since its inception in 1985, the CRP at the Ebro River delta to augment bird habi- has helped many declining grassland birds tat there, showcase organic agriculture, and regain ground, including sharp-tailed grouse, promote compatible bird-oriented tourism.107 dickcissels, and Henslow’s sparrows.103 Ecotourism, which first arose in Costa Across the Atlantic, some British farm- Rica and Kenya in the early 1980s, is loosely ers—inspired in part by conservation-ori- defined as nature-oriented travel that does not ented subsidies that began in the harm the environment and that benefits both 1990s—started preserving hedgerows and the traveler and the local community being wet meadows, and not planting crops that visited. Most nations now court ecotourists. need harvesting at peak nesting season for Although nature-oriented tourism is not field birds.104 always light on the environment, this indus- In the Netherlands, a program set up by try shows signs of improving and is often an Dutch biologists offers dairy farmers pay- economically viable alternative to resource ments to protect and encourage nesting birds extraction. Unfortunately, a good deal of the as a farm product. An experiment conducted ecotourism revenue is often earned outside between 1993 and 1996 found that it was the country being toured, limiting the eco- cheaper to pay farmers to monitor and man- nomic gains that trickle down to local people. age breeding wild birds as if they were a Increasingly, however, NGOs, tour opera- crop rather than compensate them for tors, and governments are trying to boost restricting farming practices for the sake of community involvement, as local residents bird protection. The project resulted in are recognized as critical to the success of increased breeding success of meadow-nest- conservation programs.108 ing lapwings, godwits, ruffs, and redshanks, To balance human activities with nature while not interrupting the dairy business. protection, we must ratchet biodiversity pro- By 2002, about 36,000 hectares (89,000 tection up to rank high among development acres) of Dutch farmland were enrolled in this priorities such as housing, sanitation, and program.105 municipal water supply—as part of a sustain- When the California state government able land use strategy. The increasingly

33 State of the World 2003 WATCHING BIRDS DISAPPEAR crowded peninsular state of Florida, although have stepped up efforts to secure targeted not directly comparable to many developing Florida lands. In 2001, the nonprofit orga- nations, provides a compelling example of nization The Nature Conservancy announced how local, state, federal, and private con- that it had helped protect its 1 millionth cerns set priorities on and commercialize con- Florida acre. This organization secures fund- servation while struggling with relentless ing to buy acreage that is later turned over development and population growth. Florida to government protection or kept as private is at once one of the most biologically diverse preserves.112 and environmentally challenged states. For- Meanwhile, the Florida state government tunately, since the 1980s, careful study and runs a land-buying program called Florida planning have been hallmarks of growing Forever, an aggressive 10-year effort that tar- conservation efforts there.109 gets properties most in need of conserva- One study published by three University tion. Under this, the state spends about $105 of Florida biologists in Conservation Biology million each year to acquire critical conser- in 2000 plotted out an interconnected web vation lands, protect watersheds, restore pol- of wildlife habitat called the Florida Ecolog- luted or degraded areas, and provide public ical Network, which embraces the state’s recreation. Some properties are held in con- most diverse remaining habitats and wildlife. servation easements, under which property More than half of the network is already owners receive state payments or tax incen- under protected status, while some of the tives in return for managing property as rest is targeted for acquisition. With the most wildlife habitat.113 critical areas mapped out and many of them A good part of Florida’s economy derives targeted, planners should be better able to from tourism revenue, and more than 40 steer and concentrate development into the million people flood into the state each year many areas outside the park and corridor on vacation. Meanwhile, almost 20 percent network and incorporate protected lands into of the state’s population is over 65 years of landscapes that combine compatible forms age, many of whom are retired and are fre- of agriculture.110 quent visitors to state tourist attractions. Another study by two Florida Fish and Combining its huge tourism infrastructure Wildlife Conservation Commission biolo- and highway system with a newly honed gists plotted private lands needed to ensure focus on wild places, the state identified a secure future for the most threatened nature watching as vital tourism with The wildlife, including the state’s 117 rare and Great Florida Birding Trail, which received endangered listed animals. The researchers federal aid and cooperation from the U.S. deduced that a specifically targeted 33 percent Department of Transportation and the U.S. of the state’s land area would need protection Fish & Wildlife Service. Slated for comple- to lower significantly the chances of rare tion in 2005, but already up and running in species extinctions. They included the 20 the state’s center, this sign-marked driving percent of the state that already falls under route of some 3,000 kilometers winds its protection. Florida has identified at least 6 way past most of the state’s bird hotspots, percent more land for future acquisition or including county parks, ranches, state forests, protection through easements.111 private preserves, an alligator farm or two, As prime wild real estate becomes more and federal lands.114 expensive and hard to find, conservationists Texas pioneered the first such driving route

34 State of the World 2003 WATCHING BIRDS DISAPPEAR

in 1996, including 300 sites where birders monitoring bird and other wildlife popula- may find up to 600 bird species. At least 19 tions around the world. For example, more other states and several Canadian provinces than 50,000 volunteers participated in the followed suit over the last seven years. Local 100th annual National Audubon Society towns benefit from nature tourists, a point not Christmas Bird Count, the largest and prob- lost on local chambers of commerce in cash- ably longest-running bird census. These strapped areas of southern Texas and else- knowledgeable birders identified and tallied where.115 birds wintering at more than 1,800 local The birding trails follow decades of grow- census sites throughout North America and ing interest in birding, a hobby that turns in an increasing number of Central and most of its participants into supporters of South American, Pacific island, and conservation efforts that protect birds and Caribbean countries as well. The century’s other wildlife. Two nationwide surveys under- worth of wintering bird data gives ornithol- score birding’s rising popularity, listing it as ogists a telling picture of bird abundance and one of the fastest-growing outdoor hobbies distribution.118 in the United States. The preliminary findings of the 2001 Two nationwide surveys underscore National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and birding’s rising popularity, listing it as Wildlife-Associated Recreation by the U.S. Departments of Interior and Commerce note one of the fastest-growing outdoor that more than 66 million Americans aged 16 hobbies in the United States. or older observed, fed, or photographed wildlife (particularly birds) during the year, Each year since 1987, birders have con- spending an estimated $40 billion on bird- ducted similar January surveys across Asia, as seed, binoculars, field guides, and other equip- teams of local volunteer birders pool their ment and travel expenses. In comparison, 13 observations in the Asian Waterbird Census. million hunters and 34 million anglers were And during the spring nesting season, other reported pursuing their hobbies in the coun- large-scale monitoring efforts take place in try that year, spending $20.6 billion and North America, Europe, Australia, Japan, $35.6 billion, respectively.116 and elsewhere to canvas bird breeding. Other Another report, the National Survey on “citizen science” programs target declining Recreation and the Environment, is con- bird species, backyard birds, plants, insects, ducted by government and private organiza- amphibians, and even stream-living inverte- tions and last ran in 2001. It estimated that brates to test stream water quality.119 at least a third of U.S. residents 16 or older— As bird surveyors note, many bird species or about 70.4 million people—go outdoors are in decline and prospects remain bleak for to watch birds sometime during the year, many of the world’s most-threatened bird and that these numbers more than doubled species. Governmental and private efforts to between 1983 and 2001. Surveys conducted save some, however, are bearing fruit, setting in Britain by the Royal Society for the Pro- good examples for future endeavors else- tection of Birds yielded similar results.117 where: Economic impact aside, the burgeoning • The Seychelles magpie-robin is rebound- ranks of birders also provide a powerful infu- ing after being reintroduced to predator- sion of eyes and ears that assist scientists in free islands and after reductions in pesticide

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use in its habitat.120 landowner, Brazilian conservation orga- • The Canada-nesting, Texas-wintering nizations, the World Parrot Trust, and whooping crane has been a hallmark of funding from the Disney Conservation conservation efforts between Canada and Initiative help conservationists plant licurí the United States—up to about 200 birds palms (essential food plants for the birds), after a low of 14 adults in 1938. A non- monitor the population, and protect nest migratory population was reintroduced to sites.126 Florida, providing an extra hedge against The actions needed to ensure a secure extinction (and an added ecotourism future for birds are the very same ones needed attraction).121 to achieve a sustainable human future: pre- • In 1999, the peregrine falcon was lifted serving and restoring ecosystems, cleaning from the U.S. Endangered Species list fol- up polluted areas, reducing the use of harm- lowing the ban on DDT in the 1970s and ful pesticides, reversing global climate change, decades of protection, captive breeding, restoring ecological balances, and control- and reintroduction programs. The bald ling the spread of exotic species that knock eagle may soon follow.122 such balances askew. (See Box 2–3.) Wildlife • Protection combined with apparent adapt- conservation must be worked into and be ability to changed landscapes enabled red compatible with rural, suburban, and urban kites to return to former haunts in the planning efforts that improve the prospects United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany, and for the world’s poor while making our cities France.123 and industries safer for all living beings. • Four threatened parrot species on three Canadian Wildlife Service biologist F.L. Caribbean islands—St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Filion once wrote about birds: “it is difficult and Dominica—are inching back from the to imagine another resource capable of con- brink thanks to government and NGO tributing as fully and as completely to protections, public education campaigns, mankind’s diverse needs.” Birds provide us and some captive breeding efforts.124 with food, inspiration, a link to nature, and • On the fabled dodo island of Mauritius, security—in this case as indicators of envi- habitat protection and exotic plant and ronmental ills. Today, this feathered resource animal eradication efforts benefit now- is in great need of human attention. As we growing populations of the endemic Mau- work toward a more sustainable future, keep- ritius cuckoo-shrike and Mauritius kestrel, ing an eye on the world’s 9,800 bird species a species that also benefited from captive helps us keep ourselves in check—if we care breeding and release programs until the to heed the warnings. Along the way, birds’ early 1990s.125 colors, songs, and activity will continue to • The bright blue Lear’s macaw, a rare par- inspire us, reminding us that in protecting the rot of northeast Brazil, appears to be world’s biodiversity, we are doing the right steadily rising in number, from about 170 thing for flora, fauna, and ourselves.127 in the late 1990s to about 250. A local

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BOX 2–3. A DOZEN STEPS TOWARD A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE FOR BIRDS AND BIODIVERSITY

• Involve local communities in conservation efforts. • Where possible, combine compatible commercial activities with conservation goals. • Study bird and other wildlife populations thoroughly and set aside areas most in need of protection. • Include biodiversity protection as a key goal when planning development, industry, or agriculture. • Control harmful introduced species. • Ban chemicals dangerous to birds, other wildlife, and people. • Improve protections against chemical spills, including oil spills. • Reign in uncontrolled hunting of birds, particularly along migration routes and in areas inhabited by localized, threatened species. • Mitigate harmful fishing techniques, par- ticularly longline nets, which needlessly kill many thousands of seabirds. • Address and mitigate threats posed to birds by communications towers, tall buildings, and power lines. • Stem the causes of global warming. • Within communities, raise environmental awareness through bird-watching and other activities.

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