Save the birds!

I've always been a bird lover. I grew up with birds in cages in my house and now I have feeders in the front and the back of my house. My dog Rosie loves to sit by the window and watch the birds come and go.

When you drive around Skagit County, you see many photographers holding cameras with very long lenses patiently waiting to get wonderful shots of birds.

Bird populations have been decreasing on a regular basis, but lately I've noticed enormous numbers of white birds gathered in the fields of Skagit. I checked in with my friend Libby Mills who is a bird expert and takes groups bird watching throughout the state. Libby said that those are snow geese but other populations of birds are still diminishing.

I looked it up and found that half of the world's 10,000-ish bird species are in decline. One in eight species faces the threat of extinction. The problem has been worsening for decades, which has allowed scientists to be able to estimate roughly how many fewer birds are around today than half a century ago.

Why? Because as human populations grow birds are losing the habitats they need, places to live, find food, rest and raise their young. They face many other threats as well – from free-roaming cats and collisions with glass to toxic pesticides and insect declines.

A recent comprehensive assessment of net population changes in the U.S. and Canada reveals across-the-board declines that scientists now call "staggering." All told, the North American bird population is down by 2.9 million breeding adults, causing devastating losses. Forests alone have lost 1 billion birds.

Fortunately, we live in a place where we can drive around and take in the sight of many birds. And we can do a few things to help preserve them, such as keep our cats indoors. Indoor cats live longer, healthier lives and outdoor cats kill more birds than any other native threat.

Watch birds, share what you see. Bird watchers are one of science's most vital sources of data on how the ecological world is faring.