The Impact of Global Warming on Birds

The range of the Purple Finch has moved an estimated 433 miles northward.

The National Audubon Society issued a press release on February 10, 2009 with findings that show a correlation of bird movements to a warming climate.  Here is the beginning of the press release, to read the full report click here.

“The northward and inland movement of North American birds, confirmed by thousands of citizen-observations, provides new and powerful evidence that global warming is having a serious impact on natural systems, according to new analyses by Audubon scientists. The findings signal the need for dramatic policy changes to combat pervasive ecological disruption.

Analyses of citizen-gathered data from the past 40 years of Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count (CBC) reveal that 58 percent of the 305 widespread species that winter on the continent shifted significantly north since 1966, some by hundreds of miles. Movement was detected among species of every type, including more than 70 percent of highly adaptable forest and feeder birds. Only 38 percent of grassland species mirrored the trend, reflecting the constraints of their severely-depleted habitat and suggesting that they now face a double threat from the combined stresses of habitat loss and climate adaptation.”

Read the full report here.

The National Audubon Society has several recommendations on action than can be taken to offset global warming including signing a petition.  Check them out there page on Global Warming here.