Bird Population: What Can Be Done to Stem The Sharp Decline in the Bird Population?

The steep decline in birds throughout North America has been dubbed a "crisis." New research published recently in Science shows bird populations have dropped by about 3 billion across North America—an overall decline of 29 percent from 1970. As the annual Christmas Bird Count kicks off (Dec 14-25), we discuss why this is happening, what the outlook is for birds in Maine, and what individuals can do to help.

• Doug Hitchcox, staff naturalist, Maine Audubon
• Adrienne Leppold, wildlife biologist and songbird specialist with Maine's Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife; project director, Maine Breeding Bird Atlas

• The Number Of Birds In Maine And The Rest Of The Country Is Declining Rapidly  
• North America Has Lost 3 Billion Birds, Scientists Say
• The Christmas Bird Count for Maine
• Winter Survival of Maine Birds
• 7 Actions to help the bird population, from #bringbirdsback
• CatBibs
• Backyard bird feeding best practices 
• The wild seed project