Climate change is controversial, and while different scientists and conservationists have varying opinions about the causes of climate change and what could or should be done about these changes, it is indisputable that not only is climate change occurring, but it is also impacting birds in many negative ways.

What Is Climate Change?

Climate change is not just a single bad storm, one unseasonably hot day or one unexpected frost – an overall pattern of long-term, planet-wide changes is what truly indicates ongoing climate change.


Over time, warmer or colder than expected temperatures can indicate continuing changes, and over years, decades or millennia, changes such as rising ocean levels, dramatically reduced polar ice and expanding deserts are all clues that a climate is changing.

There are many different causes of climate change, whether the climate is warming or cooling. Plate tectonics, volcanic eruptions, solar radiation and planetary orbit variations are all natural factors that can influence climate change. Human factors can also impact climate change, such as ongoing deforestation as well as pollutants in the atmosphere or oceans. Combined with the natural forces that create climate change, human factors may be speeding the process up considerably, which can impact birds even more severely. By understanding what causes climate change, however, birders can better understand how to help minimize its effects on birds and other wildlife.

How Climate Change Hurts Birds

There are many ways that climate change can be harmful to birds, including…

• Habitat Loss: As the global climate changes, birds may lose habitat in several ways. Plants that birds rely on may no longer be able to thrive in warmer or cooler temperatures, or with different moisture patterns. Rising water levels can wash away coastal habitats, and birds that rely on polar ice, such as many penguins, may be left without suitable habitat as that ice melts.
   
• Food Loss: As habitats change, so do the food sources available to birds. When plants change, their seeds, nectar, fruit and nuts will not be as readily available, and birds will not has as much food available. Ocean currents can change as water temperatures shift, taking fish schools away from the traditional hunting grounds of piscivorous birds. Global climate changes can also impact other prey that raptors rely on.
   
• Range Changes: While climate change may damage birds' existing ranges, other ranges may become more suitable to birds. Those new ranges are less familiar to the birds, however, and they will need to work harder to avoid predators, compete for nesting sites and find suitable food sources.
   
• New Predators: As birds need to move into new areas, they may encounter new predators that they are not as well-equipped to avoid. Similarly, predators may move into new ranges themselves, creating new threats to birds in those areas.
   
• Natural Disasters: Severe storms are part of climate change, and different natural disasters can have different negative effects on birds. A storm, fire or mudslide might wipe out a nesting colony, decimate a food source or disrupt birds' migration.
   
• Change Speed: Birds have adapted to eons of global warming and ice ages, but the human factors that are impacting climate change are accelerating the process in such a way that birds may not be able to adapt as quickly as the changes occur. This makes it harder for birds to adjust to the ongoing shifts in their environment.
   
• "Green" Fixes: New technology such as solar power plants and wind turbines may help reduce carbon emissions and create better renewable energy to help mitigate climate change. If the technology is not implemented with wildlife in mind, however, it can have detrimental effects on birds, like destroying habitat or causing previously unknown hazards, such as in-flight impact with wind turbines or solar plants scorching perched birds.

How You Can Help

While climate change will happen, there are ways that every birder can help minimize its effects and help birds adjust to changing environmental conditions.

• Take steps to be a green birder, including reducing energy usage, recycling materials and reusing supplies as much as possible. This will help minimize the rate of climate change, giving birds more time to adequately adjust.
   
• Work to reduce your birding carbon footprint, which will help reduce pollutants in the atmosphere. Carpooling, birding by bike and other options are great ways to be an active birder with only a minimal impact on the environment.
   
• Plan bird-friendly landscaping for birds to take advantage of. Opt for native plants whenever possible, especially plants that can serve as both shelter and food sources, such as berry bushes or the best fruit trees for birds, and incorporate water into the landscape as well.
   
• Support local and national wildlife refuges to help preserve larger patches of habitat that are critical for both resident and migratory birds. Volunteering at refuges, making donations or even just visiting are great ways to help provide for birds.
   
• Support legislation and projects that can minimize the effects of climate change, particularly in areas with critical habitat for birds. Ethical voting, project volunteering, donations and other easy steps can help raise awareness about the impact climate change can have on birds and how to reduce that impact.
   
• Do your own research into climate change issues. This is such a hot button topic that different opinions can become clouded with passion that could overlook crucial facts, but birders who carefully research different sides of climate change issues can draw their own educated conclusions.

Climate change is a fact, but there are many facts about it that are disputed. What is not disputed, however, is that if left unchecked, it can have drastic effects on birds and other wildlife. Once birders realize that, they can begin to take steps to help birds adjust to their changing world.

Photo – Margerie Glacier © Kimberly Vardeman