Derek Broughton wrote:
"Thanks" to their protected species status? Hardly that. aiui, birds in
the US are treated much as they are in Canada - if they're not
considered "game" (essentially Ducks/Geese, Turkeys & Grouse/Partridge)
birds, they're protected. Don't farmers need permits to destroy pest
birds? Now, some birds have greater protection - you can't disturb their
habitats, but afaik that doesn't apply to Herons and Egrets, so why are
Herons and Egrets multiplying while all sorts of songbirds are decreasing?
Probably habitat modification.

Generally there are 2 main causes to bird population decreases:

Habitat reduction is one, but is in 2nd place.

Predation is the other and is in 1st place, by a fairly large margin -
especially among ground nesting birds. Natural predators (birds of
prey, skunks, foxes, coyotes, etc) account for a fairly steady
percentage of this and have not changed significantly for a very long
time (hundreds of years). So what new predator is accounting for the
losses of birds?

A: pets who are allowed to roam free (mostly cats). Note that I am NOT
referring to feral cats - those essentially become part of the wild
animal environment where natural selection weeds out those who are "bad
hunters". The REAL danger are pets who can kill one day, miss the next,
but get a nice meal at home with a safe place to stay on both days.
These animals are predators with impunity.


Which explains why I shoot cats - ALL CATS - straying on my property
(yes, I live out in the country). If they are wearing a collar, I shoot
them twice.

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