Contributed by Lisa Gaumnitz, Coordinator, SOS Save Our Songbirds
The beautiful songs and plumage of birds are welcome signs of spring, yet many bird lovers are noticing their feeders -- and nearby fields and forests -- have been growing silent, as a 30% loss in North American birds hits home in Wisconsin.
To help reverse that loss, the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin and Wisconsin Bird Conservation Partnership have launched an action campaign, SOS Save Our Songbirds, to make it easier for people to make small changes at home that help birds.
“Our songbirds are in crisis, in Wisconsin and everywhere,” says NRF Executive Director David Clutter. “The pleasure we get from seeing and hearing them will be lost if we don’t act now. The other mental health, economic, and environmental benefits that we get from birds will go away too.”
SOS Save Our Songbirds asks people to take one or more of the following three actions at home and provides resources to make doing so easier, cheaper, and more convenient:
- Add a few good plants for birds
- Reduce window threats
- Buy coffee grown in bird-friendly ways to protect Wisconsin birds’ winter habitats in coffee-growing regions in Central and South America.
At the campaign website, people can sign up for free email updates to receive discount offers from native plant nurseries, retailers of products preventing bird-window collisions, and coffee retailers.
“We’re asking everyone to make one or more of these small changes at home,” says Karen Etter Hale, chair of the Wisconsin Bird Conservation Partnership. “It all adds up. And if you’re already taking these actions, thank you!
“We ask, too, if you will please share what you’re doing with your neighbors, family, and friends, so they can do good things for birds too.”
Read more:
SOS Save Our Songbirds on Facebook
SOS Save Our Songbirds on Instagram
Wisconsin Bird Conservation Partnership