This past Saturday I had a booth at the Earth Day event on Cortez Street. I went to the store early that morning to load my truck and the doors were frozen shut! The unexpected snow storm the night before was a real surprise—but welcome. We can always use more moisture.
On Tuesday evening of this week (on Earth Day) I was invited to read a proclamation at the Courthouse Square from Prescott Mayor Phil Goode proclaiming Tuesday as Earth Day, and March 19-27th as Earth Week. It was a lovely spring day. As I stood on the grounds of the courthouse, I felt surrounded by nature. Even in that very urban setting I saw a yellow-rumped warbler, bushtits, house finches, lesser goldfinches, white-breasted nuthatches and a ladder-backed woodpecker.
As I reflected on the significance of the day I had several thoughts. I thought of Rachel Carson’s seminal work, Silent Spring, published in September 1962. I was three years old at the time. It wasn’t until April 22nd of 1970 that the first official Earth Day event took place.
Fast forward several decades. In 2019 an article was published in Science revealing the results of the first-ever comprehensive assessment of wild bird populations in the U.S. and Canada. It was estimated that North America’s wild bird population was down by 2.9 billion breeding adults since 1970.
This staggering loss was affecting a wide-range of bird species—including common birds. Dark-eyed juncos were down 168 million, while white-throated sparrows were down 90 million. Eastern and western meadowlarks were down by a combined 139 million and red-winged blackbirds were down by 92 million birds.
Cornell Lab (of ornithology) director John Fitzpatrick and study coauthor Peter Marra wrote “A staggering loss that suggests the very fabric of North America’s ecosystem is unraveling.”
The Cornell Lab website offers seven suggestions on ways we can help wild birds:
“1. Make Windows Safer, Day and Night. Simple adjustments to your windows can save birds’ lives.” (from window strikes)
“2. Keep Cats Indoors. Indoor cats live longer, healthier lives. Outdoor cats kill more birds than any other non-native threat.”
“3. Reduce Lawn by Planting Native Species. The U.S. has 63 million acres of lawn. That’s a huge potential for supporting wildlife.” Just think of the impact if homeowners converted their lawns to natural open space with native plants.
“4. Avoid Pesticides. Look for organic food choices and cut out some of the 1 billion pounds of pesticides used in the U.S. each year.”
“5. Drink Coffee That’s Good for Birds. Shade-grown coffees are delicious, economically beneficial to farmers, and help more than 42 species of North American songbirds.” (in their wintering grounds)
“6. Protect Our Planet from Plastics. 91% of plastics are not recycled, and they take 400 years to degrade.”
“7. Watch Birds, Share What You See. Bird watchers are one of science’s most vital sources of data on how the ecological world is faring.”
I will add an eighth suggestion—reduce outdoor lighting at night. Bright lights at night disorient birds during migration resulting in millions of birds being killed each year by flying into buildings.
As we celebrate Earth Week in 2025, I invite you to take steps to help protect wild birds—everyday. It is not enough to celebrate Earth Day once a year. We need to practice healthy stewardship for our Mother Earth. Please consider what you can do to make a difference, and start today.
I hope to see you at the Verde Valley Birding and Nature Festival this weekend at Dead Horse Ranch State Park in Cottonwood as we celebrate the wonder of wild birds here in the Arizona Central Highlands region.
Until then, Happy Birding!
Eric Moore is the owner of The Lookout, in Prescott, where you will find a Hallmark Gold Crown Store, wild bird products, and Swarovski and Vortex optics. Eric has been an avid birder for over 55 years. Eric can be contacted at eric@thelookoutaz.com.
I have been doing a lot of digiscoping on this trip—using my Swarovski spotting scope and my iPhone to take both still shots and video. After I get home I will get some these loaded onto The Lookout Facebook page so you can see what I saw!
This past weekend was the winter solstice, the shortest day and the longest night of the year. While I personally do not like the cold, I do love the winter night sky. Each morning when I go outside to retrieve the newspaper, I like to just pause, and look at the heavens and take in the wonder of the night sky.
Maybe like you, unfortunately I live in a neighborhood where some of my neighbors leave their outside lights on all night long. Why? I have no idea. To me it is annoying, and a poor use of precious resources. We live in a time when we need to be so mindful of how we use energy.
One may think it is a little thing, a 100 watt bulb left on all night, but multiply that by hundreds and thousands of lights left on all night and what a huge impact this has on energy use.
There is a dark sky ordinance in some communities. I personally like living in a community where people value dark skies. I like living in a neighborhood where there aren’t any street lights.
Another issue to consider is the impact of lights on wild birds, especially when they are migrating. Lights at night disorient while birds, resulting in window strikes, resulting in an untimely death.
Several months ago the Courier ran an article about outdoor lights at night, and the impact on wild birds. I concur.
