You don’t need to be a bird lover to be startled at the news of thousands of blackbirds falling dead out of the sky in small Beebe, Arkansas, on New Year’s Eve. The sight of all the carcasses on the ground just gives you chills. The chills will run even deeper if scientists determine that the disaster is manmade. But we needn't wait for the final verdict from researchers in Arkansas to assess the scale of human impact on birds.

The truth is, if we add up the estimated number of birds that die from human-related causes, we get a number that conservatively amounts to several hundred thousand Beebe incidents every year. This includes all the birds that die from pollution (remember that big oil spill?); collisions with cars, buildings and other structures; and from household pets. And we’re not even counting the population declines that result from habitat loss and climate change. Why doesn’t this carnage make the front page? The answer, of course, is that it doesn’t usually happen so dramatically all at once, in one place. Instead it typically happens bird by bird, over the vast geography of our country, out of sight and out of mind.

It’s tough being a bird. In addition to the manmade threats, birds also get hammered by natural threats such as disease, weather, predators, etc. Birds need our help. The least we can do is lend them a hand where we can – by protecting and restoring habitat, eliminating pollutants and other threats, reducing disturbance, and giving them a voice in relevant policy making. (photo of a thriving Red-Winged Blackbird by Alan D. Wilson via Wikipedia)