The male is easily recognizable by its vibrant blue upper parts and its orange-red throat, breast and sides. The belly and the under tail coverts, on the other hand, are a pure white colour. The female also has blue wings and tail but the blue is just duller in colour than the males. Its crown and back are gray and it has a white ring around the eye. The female’s throat, breast and sides are brown, and like the male, its belly and under tail coverts are white. The juvenile bluebird also has dull blue wings and tail and gray crown and back. It has a white ring around the eye, but the under parts are spotted rather than white.

The Eastern Bluebird is often confused with other bluebirds because of their similar looks and coloring. The male Western Bluebird has a blue throat whereas the Eastern Bluebird has an orange-red one. The male Mountain Bluebird does not have any reddish color on its underparts, but apart from that, has similar coloring. The female birds are not as easy to separate as their male counterparts. Both the Mountain and Western Bluebirds have gray bellies and throats but the female Eastern Bluebird has a white belly and a brownish throat.

Unlike during the 1950s and 1960s, the Eastern Bluebird population has decreased alarmingly in recent years, dropping to as low as 17 percent of recorded numbers back then. Some of the reasons for this unfortunate situation include severe winters, increasing competition with other hole nesters for decreasing nest sites, and pesticides that have been used to control fire ants.

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Previously birds such as the cuckoo, turtle dove and nightingale were thought to be amongst the world’s most common bird species. However it seems that even these birds are now at risk, with each of these species suffering massive slumps in their overall population numbers during the past half century.

The worst part about the new findings is that this is a global trend. Birds that were once common all over the world are now suffering sharp declines. While the cuckoo and nightingales were once very common in Britain, they are no longer quite so common. In other parts of Europe the turtle dove and corn bunting have declined dramatically. In Asia, the once common white-rumped vulture is becoming scarce, while in the Middle East, the Eurasian eagle owl is disappearing. And North America certainly doesn’t escape the trend, with birds such as the northern bobwhite showing dramatic decreases in population.

These shocking revelations and others were recently published at a BirdLife International world conference in Buenos Aires in a report entitled: “State of the World’s Birds.” According to Dr Mike Rands, the chief executive of BirdLife, “many of these birds have been a familiar part of our everyday lives, and people who would have not necessarily have noticed other environmental indicators have seen their numbers slipping away and are wondering why.” Dr Rands also said that “birds provide an accurate and easy-to-read environmental barometer,” which allows “us to see clearly the pressures our current way of life is putting on the world’s biodiversity.” With a significant portion of the more ‘common’ bird populations across the world suffering dramatic population decreases – sometimes more than 40 percent – we are suddenly finding ourselves presented with the raw reality that our natural world truly is falling to pieces around us. While the effects of phenomenon’s such as global warming have already been pointed out in other ways, it seems that now even bird lovers are faced with the challenge of going green to save species that were once considered to be under no immediate threat.

As a bird lover, will you rise to the challenge or give in to defeat and watch your beloved garden-variety favourites slowly disappearing from the skies? Any efforts you make now may still make a big difference on the number of birds populating our skies in a few year’s time.

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Biologist Robert J. Craig has spent the last seven years, seven days a week, carefully documenting the bird populations in various areas in Southern New England. The journey has taken him across more than 1 000 miles of land on foot and has required him to trudge across snow, wade across rivers and fight his way through forest undergrowth. However Craig argues that the resulting information is invaluable and should be used to make some very important decisions.

As Craig made his way through the woods of Connecticut and Rhode Island, he spent his days counting birds. He took note of which bird species where evident in a particular area, how many species were evident and what time of year they were most visible. In doing so he slowly developed a database of information that tells biologists and conservationists which areas see the most bird activity at any given period. Craig feels that the results of his research should have a massive impact on the wildlife conservation decisions since it pinpoints exactly which areas are the biggest bird hotspots in the country. By focusing conservation efforts on these areas, the limited amount of money and land available for conservation can be put to best use to protect birds and other wildlife.

One of the aspects of his research which has been most revealing was the discovery that coastal forests served as the region’s principal winter bird reservoir. Unfortunately this is also hot property when it comes to commercial developers and so the battle to preserve this land is a big one as long as it remains unprotected. Craig feels so strongly about protecting these forest habitats that he has even been willing to suggest abandoning efforts to protect other habitats, such as prairies or marshes, which support a lower level of more common species. However his suggestion has come under fire by most other biologists who feel that while the forests – and especially coastal forests – should be given the most attention, other habitats should not be abandoned. While Craig’s “eco-triage” concept is at odds with many other professionals in the conservation field, his research is generally viewed as being invaluable. The depth of the information is far greater than that gathered from bird watchers and researchers over the years and it certainly will prove to be a valuable asset to the conservation community in years to come.

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Established and directed by Dr. Peter P. Marra of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center in Washington, DC, the Smithsonian’s Neighborhood Nestwatch opens up opportunities for ordinary citizens to get involved in a nationwide program by being biologists in their own backyards. Participants in the program will gain an in-depth understanding of birds in their neighborhood, while assisting scientists to gather crucial information with regard to the survival of backyard bird populations.

Efforts to asses the state of backyard bird populations focuses on finding the answers to two main questions. Firstly, how successful are backyard bird nests? Secondly, how long do backyard birds live? Neighborhood Nestwatch volunteers work along with scientists in finding occupied bird nests and then monitoring the nests over a period of time, recording and reporting their observations. Scientists are keen to compare the success rates between nests which are found in urban, suburban and rural backyards. Additionally, researchers from the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center have been marking individual birds with combinations of colored plastic leg bands. Citizen scientists are required to keep on the lookout for these banded birds and report their sightings. More than 3,700 birds have been banded, with over 420 sightings being reported in subsequent years.

Analysis of preliminary data collected by Neighborhood Nestwatch participants suggests that cavity-nesting birds, such as house wrens and chickadees, have higher nesting success. It is thought that the main reason for this may be that cavity nests are more protected from predators. These birds also lay larger clutches of eggs than their open-cup nesting neighbors, but they make fewer nesting attempts per season. Birds with long nesting seasons, such as cardinals and robins, lay small clutches and have a fairly low rate of nesting success.

Sadly, our modern environment often has a negative effect on birds. For example, even though lead is no longer a component in gasoline, birds are still being affected by lead from years ago which has accumulated in soil and plant life in urban and suburban environments. Even minute amounts of lead in a bird’s system can lead to reduced weight gain for nestlings, as well as reduced ability to sustain essential metabolic functions due to organ damage. Ongoing research in this regard will no doubt reveal the impact that an increasingly urbanized world will have on bird populations and other wildlife.

The Smithsonian’s Neighborhood Nestwatch has learned a great deal about backyard birds in Washington, DC, in a project which is encouraging entire families to work as a team in fulfilling their observation tasks. Neighborhood Nestwatch participants are gaining valuable insight into the role that birds play in the environment – and having a whole lot of fun in the process.

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As part of efforts to boost the success rates of nesting birds in the region, some 2 140 acres of state parkland have been set aside on Long Island’s East End as a conservation area. The protected area will be the 50th such designated zone for birds in New York State and will greatly benefit species such as piping plovers and ospreys.

Most of the Napeague State Park is included in the newly defined zone, as is the western side of Hither Hills State Park. Both parks are incredibly popular and see hundreds of visitors annually. Regular park users will be happy to know that the newly designated area will not bring about a prohibition of regular recreational activities formally permitted in the park, and park goers will still be able to go camping. The main reason that the bird haven was created was to ensure that officials give habitat preservation of the many different birds that can be found here the utmost priority. The new bird haven program will also serve to educate the public about birds in the area and ensure that various havens are clearly demarked with new signs.

There are a number of delightful birds living in the new bird haven and it is hoped that these efforts will boost numbers by improving nesting activities. The beaches and marshland around Napeague Harbour provide the perfect habitat for a number of threatened beach-nesting bird species, such as least terns. The area is also widely used by a number of migratory birds that stop over here to feed on insects or fruit before continuing on their way. The marshes are a great place for short-eared owls and northern harriers, while the beaches and dunes are perfect for species such as the piping plover.

The New York bird conservation area program was created in 1997 as part of efforts to safeguard and enhance existing bird populations in a number of state-owned areas. It is not a means to set up new laws within existing laws, but rather serves to educate people, to bolster protection efforts and to assist with management and research projects. The sites selected for the program are chosen for their abundance of birds, and the new East End area is no exception. The Napeague area is one of the largest unbroken maritime zones on Eastern Long Island and so its importance to the bird populations cannot be overstated.

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The striking northern bald ibis (Geronticus eremite), with is long red bill and oblong-shaped black body, is not a bird that would usually attract too much attention because many people would not think of it as the most attractive bird. However, it is currently very much under the spotlight as it is a critically endangered bird that may be facing extinction if more effort is not put into preserving this species.

The IUCN Red List has labeled the northern bald ibis a critically endangered species because it has long been suffering a steady decline in population. The bird is now limited to an extremely small range and is very low in numbers. While management actions have lead to some success in increasing numbers in places such as Morocco, northern bald ibis numbers continue to drop overall. This means that the bird species still faces the possibility of extinction in the very near future.

The northern bald ibis is between 70 and 80 centimeters in size. Its body is mainly black with iridescent tinges of green, blue and copper. The face is naked with a crown and both are red in color. The nuchal area has a ruff of feathers and the bird usually makes very little noise – apart from a few grunts that might be uttered from its nest or while doing a courtship display. It is currently estimated that there are only about 227 of these birds in the world and these are limited to a 680 square kilometer area.

It was previously believed that this bird was only found at the Souss-Massa National Park in Morocco and at Tamri. However non-breeding birds have been found in Mauritiana and further breeding pairs or adults have been seen in Talila, Syria and Turkey. It was estimated that there were only 300 individuals in 1994 and, despite certain isolated increases, this number has been steadily dropping. While the population of the bird decreased dramatically in the past mainly due to unidentified natural causes, more recent declines are caused by human persecution, loss of suitable habitats, pesticide poisoning, dam construction and human disturbance. Loss of eggs to predators and poor chick survival are also notable factors in the species’ decline.

Fortunately efforts are constantly underway to try and prevent the extinction of this unusual bird. Many of the birds are nesting in national parks and other protected areas, and research, protection programs and collaboration with local communities will likely go a long way to helping. Hopefully more research into the feeding and breeding habits of the bird, as well as the habitat requirements of this unusual creature, will be done in the future to enable conservationists to better ensure the future survival of the northern bald ibis.

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