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Canada goose numbers are increasing in Arkansas and the nation in contrast to sharp declines in several other bird species. (Photo by Joe Mosby) Report: Some state birds decline in numbers Saturday, Jun 16, 2007 By Joe Mosby Forty years of gathering data on birds have resulted in some disturbing findings, according to officials of the Audubon Society and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. A report on birds throughout the nation was released Thursday by the National Audubon Society. The Arkansas portions were reviews by Dr. Dan Scheiman of Arkansas Audubon and Stephen Fowler of the Game and Fish Commission. Many species have declined in numbers and some familiar and common Arkansas birds have nosedived in numbers. But a few notable species have increased. Species especially hard hit in Arkansas and reasons for their decline: -Northern bobwhite quail down at least 70 percent. The species has diminished throughout Arkansas mainly due to loss of suitable habitat to development, agricultural expansion, the planting of non-native grasses, and plantation-style forestry practices. -Field sparrows down nearly 77 percent due in part to expanding agriculture, forestry, and urban development. -Eastern meadowlarks down 67 percent, threatened by the loss of grasslands to industrialized agricultural practices. Further, the potential conversion of acres currently protected for conservation to biofuel crops like corn puts meadowlarks at even greater risk. -Loggerhead shrikes down nearly 92 percent. They inhabit open farmlands and pastures across the state, but show population declines amid increasing habitat damage and loss from intensive agricultural practices. -Prothonotary warblers down 85 percent. They breed in wooded swamps, river bottoms, and sloughs and are losing ground due to loss of bottomland hardwood forests and channelization of waterways. The birds with increases in Arkansas and the nation include wild turkeys, Canada geese and double-crested cormorants. The first two are popular game bird species, but cormorants are a nuisance to fish farming operations in the state. Scheiman said the dramatic declines in several species are attributed to the loss of healthy grasslands, forests, wetlands, and other critical habitats from multiple environmental threats such as urban sprawl, energy development, and the spread of industrialized agriculture. The study notes that these threats are now compounded by new and broader problems including the escalating effects of global warming and demand for corn-based ethanol. "Now is the time for worried citizens to act," Ken Smith, executive director of Audubon Arkansas, said. "We need to keep our common birds common, and keep them off the endangered species list. Urban sprawl in Central Arkansas and Northwest Arkansas have devastated our bird populations. In the Mississippi Delta, row-crop agriculture that stretches from county road to county road leaves no wildlife habitat. And in the Fayetteville Shale, the impact of energy development is yet to be determined, but the threat to our forests and streams is real." Fowler is the quail program director for the Game and Fish Commission and is heading up an expanded habitat research project on the highly popular game birds. A new focus is in the Damascus area of northwestern Faulkner County and including southwestern Van Buren County and northeastern Conway County. Southwestern Energy, active in the natural gas operations in Arkansas, is a major contributor to the Damascus project, along with the National Conservation Resources Service. Scheiman, director of bird conservation for Audubon Arkansas, said, "There are many things that individuals can do to help make a difference, such as enroll marginal farmland in conservation programs, or support legislation that promotes wildlife habitat management on public and private lands. "Volunteers working with Audubon and other conservation groups can play a critical role in collecting important data by taking part in bird monitoring projects. Participating in the Christmas Bird Count, the Great Backyard Bird Count, and entering bird observations into eBird are all important ways to help ornithologists track bird populations." More information about Audubon's Common Birds in Decline analysis is available at www.audubon.com. -------- Joe Mosby is the retired news editor of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and Arkansas' best known outdoor writer. His work is distributed by the Arkansas News Bureau in Little Rock. He can be reached by e-mail at jhmosby@cyberback.com. |
