Bye-Bye,Birdies? ClimaTe Change, haBiTaT loss Pose ThreaT s

14,000 and 18,000 pounds of feed a week.

But feed and birdhouses are just the hooks.

Titterington speaks to Cub Scouts and Rotary clubs, hosts events with notable authors and documentarians and serves on local and statewide boards. What keeps his customers coming back is the awareness he helps foster about people’s connectedness with birds — the ones they hunt or watch through binoculars, the ones that boost their agricultural economy and the ones facing big threats.

“My whole theory was if I can get people interested in birds in their backyard … it generates an interest for other bird species and builds a public consensus when issues like climate change come up,” Titterington said.

Nebraska’s unique ecology of arid prairie, lush grasslands and vast waterways makes it perfect for sandhill cranes, greater prairie chickens and western meadowlark. All told, 467 bird species live in, stop by or migrate through the state, according to the Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union.

But climate change and habitat loss have led to ranges shifting and bird populations declining. Since 1970 North America has lost

30% of its birds — about 3 billion in total, according to a multi-institution study published in 2019. Birders like Titterington notice the drop in the birds arriving in his backyard, and he and others worry for their fate. The warming climate is more frequently producing weather conditions unsuitable for iconic native species.

“People need to really pay attention because birds are the canary in the coal mine,” Titterington said. “They’re the ones telling us that we’ve got a lot of problems with the environment … If we lose birds, we might mirror them.”