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If not cats, then oh yeah FACTs.

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The number of birds in the world is decreasing at an alarming rate. The many conservation groups around the world are concerned. Scientists continue to study the issue, and they as well are alarmed.  The interesting reality of this issue is the disinformation that has been thrown doubt over the past two years. The first one is that Wind Turbines kill more birds than anything (they don’t). Wind Turbines are way down the list. Now, if some of the power company goals are achieved, there will be 10 to 20 times as many wind farms in the world as there are today. The problem with that is, they would still crack the top five in terms of overall birds killed.

The other often throws out the killer of birds is Windows. While yes, windows do kill birds. You would have to combine windows, wind turbines, solar farms, and human hunters even to be close to the number of birds killed by Domestic Cats. That, by the way, is not even close to the number of birds killed by feral cats. But the disinformation campaign continues to spread around the world like a giant oozing oil spill.

Oh yeah, oil spills are bad for wildlife, but it doesn’t represent a huge killer of birds.

There are 2.9 billion birds missing, no longer flying, no longer appearing in pictures shared on Virily now than there were 30 years ago. One of the things that are impacting the birds is Climate Change. In fact, on the links below there are a couple of articles that look at the death of birds (and frogs) and project that out as an indicator of just how bad climate change is.

I do worry about the misinformation – I have heard wind turbines, solar arrays and windows all used in a variety of unverified presentations. Because of that, I include links to validated scientific articles below. These include US government agencies (USGS) showing the population shifts by region in the US. Plus, references to the study showing 2.9 billion fewer birds in the US.

Finally, there is a link to a table that is roughly nine years old. I will continue to look for the updated version. Contrary to the Window claim, the Wind Turbine Claim, Feral, and Domestic cats are the only human-created problem on the list of bird killers that kill birds at a single-digit rate compared to the other things that kill birds.

Links (that support and provide facts)

http://theconversation.com/wind-farms-are-hardly-the-bird-slayers-theyre-made-out-to-be-heres-why-79567

https://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs/guild/group.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/19/opinion/crisis-birds-north-america.html

https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/nab/v043n02/p00260-p00270.pdf

  • Question of

    It is really sad so many birds are gone forever, right?

    • Yes
    • No
  • Question of

    as authors we are responsible for making sure we don’t publish disinformation, right?

    • Yes
    • No
  • Question of

    Will you read the articles on the links?

    • Yes
    • No
  • Question of

    I promise I am not anti-cat, ok?

    • Yes
    • No

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Written by DocAndersen

One fan, One team and a long time dream Go Cubs!!!!!!!!!!!!!

38 Comments

  1. Well, I can only speak for New Zealand..bird deaths here are caused by cats, ferrets, weasels, stoats, car accidents, windows, rats, mice, opossums…

    Up to human population, our New Zealand birds had no natural predators, and since people arrived our bird life has been under threat.

    1

    • It is a sad reality. There is so much disinformation out on the internet about what kills birds it makes me sad.

      I promised myself not to get frustrated about the disinformation but I can’t help it. Climate change is the probably biggest cause of killing birds. But Cats are right there!

      1

  2. Q: It is really sad so many birds are gone forever, right?
    Yes (6 votes) – 100%
    Q: as authors we are responsible for making sure we don’t publish disinformation, right?
    Yes (5 votes) – 100%
    Q: Will you read the articles on the links?
    Yes (3 votes) – 60%
    No (2 votes) – 40%
    Q: I promise I am not anti-cat, ok?
    Yes (5 votes) – 100%

  3. Republicans trying to blame avian depopulation on alternative energy is like Charlie Mansion trying to pin the Tate murders on the police…

    hell, that’s pretty much a 1:1 correspondence ratio!

    1

  4. In our country we have in the construction of wind turbines greatest difficulties precisely because of the birds. As a result, construction in some places completely stopped.

    1

    • that is why the studies were done. The cats walking around (feral) will kill more birds in a month in your country than wind turbines will in a year.

      It is a very sad disinformation campaign.

      1

  6. One with one another and the number of birds and other animals is really decreasing, dear friend … you think the cats are the ones who kill the most birds

    1

    • Scientists have studied and shown that cats kill the vast majority of birds. The number of domestic and feral cats has increased over the last 100 years. The reality is humans are responsible either way (we are the ones that have, and abandon cats).

  8. There are many things that affect the bird population. It is a fact that facilities that impede their migration – wind turbines or power lines – are being built along the migration routes.
    One of the main roads – Via Pontica, passes through Bulgaria.
    A powerful power line passes through it and 23 storks were killed by an electric shock this fall when they flew through it.
    Urbanization also destroys nesting sites.
    This also applies to other wildlife suffering from excessive human activity.

    1