The 50 Issues

Issue #27: For The Birds

Common Birds In Decline

Birds are important indicators of the overall health of our environment. Like the proverbial canaries in the coal mine, they send an urgent warning about threats to our water, air, natural resources, climate and more. Since 1967 the average population of the common birds in steepest decline has fallen by 68%; some individual species nose-dived as much as 80%. These findings point to serious problems with both local habitats and national environmental trends. 

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partner Audubon was founded over a century ago to protect birds from slaughter at the hands of plume-hunters. Today our mission is more vital than ever as we continue protecting birds and their habitat through individual action. Citizen science programs, like the century-old Christmas Bird Count, the more recently launched... read more


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Bird Feeding Basics: The Essentials
Birds To Help in YOUR Backyard

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What You Can Do

  • An Invitation to a Healthy Neighborhood
    When you and your neighbors join together to create habitat for birds, bats, and butterflies, the impact of your individual efforts will be multiplied...
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Learn More About It

  • A Future for Birds
    For millennia, birds have inspired people with their colors, songs, and behavior. But an increasing portion of the world’s almost 10,000 bird species, from the largest, the ostrich (Struthio camelus), to the smallest, the bee hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae), are suffering declines....
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Environmental News

news Did Your Shopping Kill a Songbird?

A plump red tomato from Florida is often not the same as one grown in Mexico. The imported fruits... read more

news For Earth Day, Look Skyward

At Houston Audubon Society's astounding Rookery at High Island on the Texas coast, you get a close-up... read more