If I ran the zoo: Do your part to preserve birds and habitat

I love birds. I have feeders in the front and the back of my house and my office and I refill them every day so that I can continually enjoy watching them in large numbers.

Which brings me to a very sad fact that the numbers of birds are severely decreasing. Since the 1500s, birds have been declining both in terms of species numbers (by about 500 species) and numbers of individuals (by about 20-25%). The numbers are staggering – three years after 3 billion birds were lost, America’s birds are still declining.

The biggest threat is habitat loss as humans continue to spread their wings. The next biggest threat to birds is glass on buildings, which has caused many millions more of losses.

The good news is that here in the northwest, we are still surrounded by so many birds. My friend Libby Mills is a bird expert and she takes people on wonderful observation outings. She leads field trips for Skagit Audubon for the Padilla Bay Foundation. These are around Skagit and Samish Flats. If you want to join in, go to the website SkagitAudubon.org.

March to July is the best bird song breeding season and even in winter the Skagit has many swans and songbirds flying around and entertaining us.

Support legislation that protects wildlife habitat and do your part to limit climate change. Think about the effects of your actions.

I am so inspired by how many birds I now have surrounding my house and causing me to refill their feeders every day. So inspired that I have decided I will become a bird in my next life. When I get to Heaven’s Gate and have to choose where I’m going next, I’m definitely going to become a bird.

I can just see myself sitting in a tree, watching with dismay as crazy humans continue to destroy the planet and kill each other along with many other species. And how great will it be to see something really stupid and just take off and find another landing place that ain’t as crazy.

And I will be surrounding myself with so many wonderful other birds who will agree with me that humans are just getting weirder and weirder.