A landmark study just told us something we should have been screaming about for years. We're not just losing birds — we're losing them faster. Here's what that actually means.
So important. I started to read an article this morning, but lost it, as I moved on to something else and tried to come back to it. It had a terminology that is valuable, but all I remember is one concept. Basically, we establish a baseline regarding our perception of nature, especially birds, when we are young. Abundance, diversity, etc. If we live long enough, we might notice changes in that baseline, but they are subtle to the human experience. That's why we need longitudinal data. Each generation establishes its baseline, but across generations, the baseline moves, and changes aren't perceived. Like the proverbial frog in increasingly hot water. Thanks for this. And we need to always remember, just because it's like this now--it doesn't have to be this way. We can change it. We are going to have to force this change through action, resistance, and voting.
Chris, I have said for 25 years the Robin, redwing black bird, Cardinals, quail, pheasant population are dropping in Southern Iowa. People said it was my imagination. Thank you for validating my observations.
I knew intuitively that industrial ag is killing our natural world. Sad to learn that that destruction accelerates the death rate! But in Iowa, our pleas fall on deaf ears!
"The places where the land is most intensively farmed" — that line lands differently when you live in Iowa. We already know the water is suffering. We know the soil is suffering. Now the data is telling us the birds are declining faster, not slower, and the acceleration hotspot is right here in the Midwest. Chris spent years in Iowa watching this state's relationship with climate science get weaponized politically. The fact that he's still doing this work, still connecting the data to the land, still making it personal enough to actually reach people — that matters.
— Rebecca Nicole Schweitzer, Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa
Good article but now we need a call to action. To take the next steps to public outcry and legislative action, we need a snappier name for the culprit than neonicotinoids. I'm serious. The public could remember the name DDT. They never would have been able to say they opposed Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloroethane. They can't get their head around the name neonicotinoids. Something like NNC's?? NCN's??
American Bird Conservancy has an incentive program designed to encourage farmers to stop using neonic seed coatings. Worth looking into if you are either a landowner or farmer. Baby steps are important.
These are typically referred to as “neonics” or neonic pesticides. And, they are 5-10,000 times more potent than DDT. It’s not just the birds either. Last year over 65% of all honey bee colonies collapsed with the primary cause being exposed to these toxic poisons. Fireflies, bumblebees, butterflies, bullfrogs…anything else you remember, but don’t see or hear anymore?
I just posted about this myself, @homeonearth, as a follow-up to a February post about not seeing chickadees for months. Thanks for adding to this important discussion.
People really have no concept of how ecology works, do they? And Big Ag forces farmers into bankruptcy while poisoning all of us. Maybe one benefit of t💩umps stupid war and fertilizer prices increasing will be fewer corn acres planted.
So important. I started to read an article this morning, but lost it, as I moved on to something else and tried to come back to it. It had a terminology that is valuable, but all I remember is one concept. Basically, we establish a baseline regarding our perception of nature, especially birds, when we are young. Abundance, diversity, etc. If we live long enough, we might notice changes in that baseline, but they are subtle to the human experience. That's why we need longitudinal data. Each generation establishes its baseline, but across generations, the baseline moves, and changes aren't perceived. Like the proverbial frog in increasingly hot water. Thanks for this. And we need to always remember, just because it's like this now--it doesn't have to be this way. We can change it. We are going to have to force this change through action, resistance, and voting.
Shifting baseline syndrome. It’s one failure of our public Ed system, and the lack of inter generational storytelling.
Chris, I have said for 25 years the Robin, redwing black bird, Cardinals, quail, pheasant population are dropping in Southern Iowa. People said it was my imagination. Thank you for validating my observations.
John Coulter, Creston, Ia
I knew intuitively that industrial ag is killing our natural world. Sad to learn that that destruction accelerates the death rate! But in Iowa, our pleas fall on deaf ears!
"The places where the land is most intensively farmed" — that line lands differently when you live in Iowa. We already know the water is suffering. We know the soil is suffering. Now the data is telling us the birds are declining faster, not slower, and the acceleration hotspot is right here in the Midwest. Chris spent years in Iowa watching this state's relationship with climate science get weaponized politically. The fact that he's still doing this work, still connecting the data to the land, still making it personal enough to actually reach people — that matters.
— Rebecca Nicole Schweitzer, Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa
Good article but now we need a call to action. To take the next steps to public outcry and legislative action, we need a snappier name for the culprit than neonicotinoids. I'm serious. The public could remember the name DDT. They never would have been able to say they opposed Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloroethane. They can't get their head around the name neonicotinoids. Something like NNC's?? NCN's??
"The public could remember the name DDT. They never would have been able to say they opposed Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloroethane."
Carol -- you make a very good point; all of us boomers know the term DDT !!!!
Silent Spring
Activists have been talking about this for decades, but it seems to have been of no help unfortunately.
American Bird Conservancy has an incentive program designed to encourage farmers to stop using neonic seed coatings. Worth looking into if you are either a landowner or farmer. Baby steps are important.
These are typically referred to as “neonics” or neonic pesticides. And, they are 5-10,000 times more potent than DDT. It’s not just the birds either. Last year over 65% of all honey bee colonies collapsed with the primary cause being exposed to these toxic poisons. Fireflies, bumblebees, butterflies, bullfrogs…anything else you remember, but don’t see or hear anymore?
I just posted about this myself, @homeonearth, as a follow-up to a February post about not seeing chickadees for months. Thanks for adding to this important discussion.
Great column. I would add that i read somewhere that birds flying into glass in buildings is major factor? TRUE or a lie to cover the real cause?
I am in texas. I see drought as a leading edge cause.
People really have no concept of how ecology works, do they? And Big Ag forces farmers into bankruptcy while poisoning all of us. Maybe one benefit of t💩umps stupid war and fertilizer prices increasing will be fewer corn acres planted.