Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER
4
Looking to the Future: Protecting Bird Populations
In the twenty-first century, many birds are in trouble. Some of America's most treas-
ured grassland birds, including Bobolinks, Eastern and Western meadow-larks, and
Northern Bobwhites, are showing steep declines. Of the 71 bird species unique to
Hawaii during historic times, 26 have become extinct, and 30 of the remaining spe-
cies are threatened or endangered. More than 75 percent of birds nesting in Amer-
ica's aridlands, including sage-grouse, California Condors, and Elf Owls, are declin-
ing steeply or already listed as threatened or endangered.
Wetland bird populations are well below their historic levels, but many wetland
species, from Bald Eagles and Osprey to American White Pelicans and Sandhill
Cranes, are now thriving thanks to wetland restoration, which has become a model
for bird conservation. Peregrine Falcons, extirpated from eastern North America by
the 1970s, are now nesting in many areas after benefitting from the same protective
measures that helped raptors in general, and also from reintroduction projects.
Strategic land management and conservation action are the tools we use to help
species in peril. Our successes prove that when we set our minds to it, we can make
the difference between life and death for populations and species.
Make Way for Plovers
Q Piping Plovers used to nest on the Lake Superior beach near my cabin. Last spring
two showed up during migration, and the beach was closed for a while. But people
ignored the signs and took their dogs on their regular walks, and the plovers moved
on. What can we do to help these little birds?
A
Many people have never heard of Piping Plovers, and so naturally some might feel re-
sentfuliftoldtowalktheirdogssomewhereelse.Onestrategythathasallowedtheclosely
related Snowy Plover to make a comeback on a Santa Barbara beach involves introducing
people to this splendid bird.
Piping Plovers are specialists, with adaptations that make them perfectly suited for life
on beaches and mudflats but virtually nowhere else. They feed on tiny water creatures
washedtoshoreorinwaterloggedsandalongshallowrivers,largelakes,andoceans.They
pick at visible bugs and bring small invertebrates to the surface by extending one foot
slightly forward and vibrating it against the wet sand.
Piping Plovers are exceptionally hardy for being so diminutive. They nest in a scrape
on open sand, gravel, or shell-covered substrate, or in dunes along shorelines. Their tiny
