04/16/2026
Let’s design a garden that creates biodiversity + no pesticides! If you have insects and worms then you have a healthy soil and happy birds.
3 billion.
North America has lost an estimated 3 billion birds since 1970.
→ Published in Science (2019, Rosenberg et al.)
→ About 29% of all birds gone in 50 years
→ Not just rare species—common backyard birds are declining too
Sparrows, warblers, blackbirds, and finches: major losses across these groups
Swallows and other aerial insect-eaters: steep declines (e.g., barn swallows ~-40%+)
Grassland birds: ~700 million lost (the hardest-hit group)
Across habitats
Losses aren’t isolated—they’re widespread:
Forests: ~1 billion birds lost
Grasslands: ~700 million lost
Wetlands & shorebirds: hundreds of millions lost
Deserts & arid regions: declining trends
👉 The exception:
Waterfowl and raptors have increased—a direct result of targeted conservation.
Why it’s happening
Multiple pressures are stacking together:
1️⃣ Habitat loss — especially grasslands converted to agriculture
2️⃣ Outdoor cats — estimated 1.3–4.0 billion birds killed/year (U.S.)
3️⃣ Window collisions — hundreds of millions to over 1 billion deaths/year
4️⃣ Pesticides — reducing the insects many birds rely on
5️⃣ Light pollution — disrupting nighttime migration
6️⃣ Climate change — shifting timing between breeding and food availability
The hopeful part
Some birds are recovering—and that matters.
Waterfowl increased thanks to wetland protection and restoration
Raptors rebounded after the DDT ban and legal protections
👉 Proof: conservation works—when we actually do it.
7 simple ways to help
1️⃣ Make windows bird-safe (decals, patterns, or screens)
2️⃣ Keep cats indoors
3️⃣ Turn off unnecessary lights during migration
4️⃣ Plant native plants
5️⃣ Avoid or reduce pesticide use
6️⃣ Support bird-friendly farming (e.g., shade-grown coffee)
7️⃣ Reduce, reuse, recycle
3 billion birds.
Not just a statistic.
It’s the sound of your backyard getting quieter—
year by year.
