Birds and climate to be discussed in Lakeville

Audubon Minnesota, Conservation Minnesota, and Lakeville Friends of the Environment will present the Audubon Bird Impact Study and discuss future impacts on Minnesota birds 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, at the Lakeville Heritage Library, 20085 Heritage Drive.



Based on a recent bird impact study released by Audubon Minnesota last fall, 166 bird species commonly found in Minnesota are at great risk. Audubon’s scientists analyzed more than 30 years of historical North American climate data and tens of thousands of historical bird records from the U.S. Geological Survey’s North American Breeding Bird Survey as well as utilized information from the Audubon Christmas Bird Count to understand the links between where birds live and the climatic conditions that support them. Understanding these links allow researchers to project where birds are likely to be able to live and thrive in the future.

How many of our current bird species will be here in 20 years? What new species might move into the state from the south? Researchers predict changes are certain. We’ll lose species, boreal nesters in particular, as they follow their breeding climate north. Bird species now found to our south will enter Minnesota for the same reason.

This is one of those topics easily dismissed as far in the future. Not true. Birds are at risk more and more each day. A story in The New York Times today (Friday, Oct. 23) predicts that when the carbon dioxide content of our atmosphere returns to 400 parts per million this winter, it will never again be less. It will only climb. Seasonal change based on summer vegetation causes the measurement to vary slightly; it dropped a few weeks ago from over 400 to just under. It was at 398.48 on the 23rd.

Bird lovers fear annual Australian back yard count will detail species' decline

BirdLife Australia’s state of Australia’s birds report in July found magpie, kookaburra, lorikeet and willie wagtail numbers are declining.



Gazing at large numbers of birds darting overhead may not be ideal for people with Hitchcockian fears but the steady emptying of Australian skies of some species is getting twitchers a little, well, twitchy.

The annual Aussie back yard bird count swooped into action in Melbourne’s Federation Square on Tuesday morning with the expectation that some worrying declines in some of Australia’s most common birds will be confirmed.

BirdLife Australia’s state of Australia’s birds report, released in July, found that well-known species such as the magpie, kookaburra, lorikeet and willie wagtailwere dropping in numbers across large parts of the country.

The backyard count, which encourages people to step out of their house for 20 minutes to count birds, is a less rigorous exercise. Last year’s effort included reports of penguins in the Murray river, after all.

But the count is expected to highlight the level of concern over Australia’s birds that recently prompted a federal government plan to save some of the most threatened of our feathered friends, including the helmeted honeyeater and the night parrot.

The concrete-slathered Federation Square may not be a birders’ paradise but even here a total of seven species were spotted in 20 minutes, including – of course – the rock dove, or pigeon.

The highlight was probably two bright flashes identified as lorikeets by the experts at BirdLife Australia as handlers fed two celebrity birds – Min Min the one-eyed barn owl and Kevy the nankeen kestrel – perched on gloves. Children happily scribbled colours into outlines of hawks and eagles on paper.