Birdwatching has recently surged in popularity across the world, especially among younger generations. In fact, research has shown that it’s Gen Z’s second fastest growing hobby. 

Many have turned to the pastime as a way to reconnect with nature and reduce stress levels, and it has other potential health benefits as well: some studies demonstrate its potential to help slow age-related cognitive decline by acting as a brain exercise. 

Moreover, the little equipment or experience needed makes the hobby accessible to everyone — all you really need is the presence of birds. Unfortunately, their populations are declining due to a variety of issues, including habitat and environment degradation, climate change, and, more directly, plastic pollution. 

Why is Plastic Pollution Such a Big Problem? 

Birdwatching and birds themselves are not the only victims of plastic pollution. Outside of being beloved to birders, birds play an important role in many  environmental and ecological processes. 

For one, birds are significant contributors to the health of plant populations. They pollinate, fertilize, and disperse seeds across continents, which promotes plant reproduction and supports the growth of the forest and foliage that serves as habitats for other species. 

The ecological importance of birds also extends to health issues. For example, research has shown that when vulture populations decline, humans are increasingly exposed to disease-causing bacteria and pathogens. This trend occurs due to the increase in the presence of animal carcasses, which vultures would normally remove from environments. Bacteria from these carcasses can enter water systems and turn into a serious threat to human health. 

Humans also rely directly on certain species of birds for certain tasks. For example, foragers in multiple regions in Africa have relied on the Greater Honeyguide to lead them to honey, while various types of birds can provide pest-control on farms by eating common nuisance insects, like coffee borer beetles. 

So when we lose our birds, we’re not just losing their aesthetic or emotional value — we’re also losing all of the extensive good they do for us and our environment. 

The Importance of the Past

Bird populations have been threatened by human-caused events throughout history, some of which have been devastating. Oil spills are one example, killing thousands of birds with each incident. The 1969 Santa Barbara spill, for example, led to the deaths of an estimated 3,600 birds. 

Another particularly infamous case was the chemical DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) which was commonly used as a pesticide and led to a decline of bird-of-prey populations, resulting in imbalance in affected food chains due to a lack of predators. 

But while threats to birds and their habitats exist, these events have also inspired real, feasible progress towards conservation. After the 1969 oil spill, there were extensive clean-up operations and a new-found attention to ecological issues that included the eventual creation of Earth Day. Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring highlighted the dangers of DDT and became one of the most influential texts in the environmental movement as well as a catalyst for the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency,

 In today’s environment, one of the biggest threats to birds is the increase of plastic pollution. Our next step should be following environmentalists  who came before us and putting together the next solution.

The Problem With Plastic

There are a number of reasons that plastic poses a large threat to birds, including entanglement, exposure to chemicals and, most especially, ingestion. In 2015, it was estimated that nearly 90% of seabirds consume plastic. By 2050, that number is projected to increase to 99%, which is virtually every seabird on the planet. 

Birds eat plastic both directly and indirectly by eating prey that has already consumed it. Plastic consumption can cause serious ailments, leading to lack of proper nutrient consumption and gastrointestinal obstruction/organ damage. Plastics can also find their way into nests and cause severe damage. Chicks are prone to entanglement, which can prove fatal due to strangulation and the infections they cause. These issues have been observed worldwide and occur in both aquatic and terrestrial birds. 

PULLQUOTE: “Given that birds in particular mistake plastic for prey, macroplastics or MPs have been found in the gastrointestinal tracts, feces, and even in feathers and other tissues or organs of several hundred avian species from freshwater, terrestrial, and marine ecosystems.” – Limin Wang et al. 

Plastics, which can take up to and over a thousand years to degrade, end up permanent fixtures of bird habitats, making exposure dangerously common. They’re also extremely widespread, with an estimated 12 billion tons of plastic waste expected to be found in the environment by 2050. 

These numbers are intimidating, but we should note that even the tiniest efforts add up over time. The easiest way to begin helping the birds we love can be as simple as saying no to a plastic bag. 

What can you do to help?

One way to start is by learning more about the effects and origins of single-use and disposable plastics. Knowing where they come from is the first step to identifying what you can do to cut down on them. Plastic water bottles, packaging, and plastic bags are especially prominent pollutants, but they’re also not too difficult to cut out of your life. 

Reusable bottles, kitchenware, and bags are great ways to reduce plastics while keeping the everyday items you need. As for the plastics already in the environment, getting involved in local clean-up efforts can help clear affected areas and boost community engagement. If there aren’t any around you, consider starting one! Every movement, no matter how small, makes a difference. 

Birdwatching is just one of the many aspects of our lives that rely on the presence of these fascinating, loveable creatures. If they’ve helped you alleviate the stress from work, find friends, or even just given you some small amount of joy, consider paying it back — it could mean saving their lives.

Check out our End Plastics campaign for more information and ways to take action, like calculating your plastic footprint or signing the Global Plastics Treaty petition. 

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Black-capped Chickadee. White-throated Sparrow. Common Loon. In 1964, at just four years old, Gordon Atkins recorded his first ever bird list. “It was a bittersweet moment,” says Atkins upon discovering his old list. “But it gave me pause to reflect on my experience as a birder — from a list of common backyard birds in the Northwoods of Canada where I grew up to leading tours all over North America.”  

Since Atkin’s first list, the skies of North America have grown quieter. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, since 1970, North America has lost nearly 3 billion wild birds, largely attributed to habitat loss driven by human-driven climate change. 

Birds are especially vulnerable during migration periods. A 2024 article in the International Journal of Avian Science states that mortality during spring migration is on average 6.3 times higher than during stationary periods. Disease, exhaustion, and food shortages at critical stopover locations (associated with extreme weather and wind conditions) drive this rate up. Climate change contributes to migration dangers as well, with the Carbon Brief database noting that 77% of extreme weather events are more likely or severe because of climate change.

Based at Camp Au Sable in Grayling, Michigan, Atkins, now 66, studies gull behavior and ecology. Extreme weather events, he says, like flash floods, droughts, intense storms, and wildfires are becoming less rare and more normal. “We’re adding energy to the system. You get hotter hots, colder colds, wetter wets, and dryer dries.” And if these big storms hit during migration or nesting seasons, he notes, they can devastate bird populations.

The ring-billed gull, Atkins’s bird of study, has been migrating up to six weeks earlier in recent years. As a result, breeding and egg incubation occur much earlier than usual, exposing eggs to freezing nighttime temperatures. For the gulls, increasingly sporadic weather events dramatically reduce hatchling survival rates. In the last six years, Atkins’s gull colony has had three years of 0% breeding success, two years of moderate success, and only one year of excellent breeding. 

But ring-billed gulls are adaptable and resilient, able to adjust to new, man-made habitats even as their old stomping grounds cave to human activity. Other birds aren’t so lucky. Long distance migrators, including songsters like warblers, tanagers, and meadowlarks, are among the most impacted and least inclined to adapt their migration timelines. False springs kill insects and interrupt fruit bearing plants — food sources these exhausted migratory birds heavily depend on. Wetlands are also drying up, leaving waterfowl with fewer habitat options and at greater risk of contracting a deadly virus in the wetlands that remain. 

Hope, eBird, and Citizen Science

Experts believe there is hope in data. Since its inception in 2002, Cornell’s citizen-science platform eBird has radically altered how scientists — and the average birder — collect and understand bird data, allowing anyone to report bird sightings.

Hobbyist birders are now part of something larger, equipping scientists with mass amounts of data critical to monitor changes in migratory patterns and population sizes. Just this past May, a Science study based on eBird data found that three quarters of bird species in North America are plummeting across their ranges.

Restore Habitats with Native Plants 

Migration is by far the most stressful time in a bird’s life — even without climate change related food insecurity and deadly weather events. If you’re a birder, keep an eye out for our avian friends. You can make your own list or sign up for a citizen science effort like eBird. 

And if you’re not much for birding, there’s still plenty to be done to aid our avian friends during their long journeys across continents and oceans. In addition to climate change, the destruction of natural habitats contributes to the severe decline in bird populations. Planting native species can help, and that’s where you come in. Support the Canopy Tree Project and help Earth Day continue to plant trees and restore natural environments around the globe — for us humans, our bird friends, and every little creature in between.

This article is available for republishing on your website, newsletter, magazine, newspaper, or blog. The accompanying imagery is cleared for use with attribution. Please ensure that the author’s name and their affiliation with EARTHDAY.ORG are credited. Kindly inform us if you republish so we can acknowledge, tag, or repost your content. You may notify us via email at woods@earthday.org. Want more articles? Follow us on substack.

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