Posted: Friday, October 3, 2014 6:00 am
PHIL DICKINSON/Special Correspondent
If your neighborhood changed, would you adjust or move?
If you relocated for a job, would your family adapt to new surroundings?
What would you do if your home were destroyed during a hurricane?
Most birds are more sensitive to their surroundings than humans. If conditions change and if their food or homes disappear they could perish.
Many bird species rely on specific habitats and food sources to achieve breeding success. Some birds require forests and the nuts or insects that are available there. Some birds require open spaces to hunt small animals. Still others require water to find fish, snails or small crustaceans. Some birds adapt to change — doves, starlings, robins, for example.
But many experience difficulties. Their breeding ranges diminish and their numbers drop.
Last month, the National Audubon Society issued a seven-year study on “Birds and Climate Change.” The news is not good. Based on where scientists think our North American climate is headed, over half of our bird species are at risk over the next 65 years — 314 of 588 to be precise.
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