Building Nests and Cutting Trees
I think birds are amazing.
When I sat down to write this article, I searched for the perfect introduction to explain my personal connection to birds, which I would then use to segue into a larger narrative about how they are negatively impacted by clearcutting (the destructive and environmentally unfriendly practice of mass-logging trees). After that admittedly depressing (but vitally necessary) section, I would then address what we can do to help mitigate the effects of clearcutting on our local bird species. Ultimately, I concluded that the perfect introduction was the most direct: I love birds.
I get excited about every bird I see, from the much maligned pigeon (they walk like people! How can you not find this charming?) to the majestic California condor. Birds are descendants of dinosaurs, and some species, particularly from the corvid family, are extremely intelligent; crows can even solve logic puzzles. I love birds so much, I’ve expanded my passion for them into direct action: I volunteer with the Los Angeles Audubon, monitoring the threatened and endangered shorebird species on our beaches.
Birds are an incredibly diverse, unique class of organisms, with over 18,000 species thought to exist in the world. With those kinds of numbers, there’s truly a bird for everyone, so if you think you don’t like birds, maybe you just haven’t met the right one! (If it’s not the pigeon, I understand.)
So: Birds are great! But they also are a vital part of our ecosystem. This is why we should care that clearcutting is so destructive to their nesting habitats. It’s simple but heartbreaking: many birds call the forests their home, and due to clearcutting, their homes are disappearing. The Stop Clearcutting California website notes the specific devastation clearcutting has on wildlife populations:
Because clearcutting indiscriminately destroys entire areas, plant loss and destruction of animal habitat is unavoidable. Species that need particular conditions to survive may even go extinct due to the dramatic landscape change caused by a clearcut. ... The loss of habitat also increases competition for resources, putting undue pressure on our wildlife. What’s more, clearcutting often introduces new logging roads that cut through the ecosystem and decrease the habitat connectivity that is crucial for many species.
Clearcutting also leads to declines in biodiversity, and as mentioned, in the most tragic cases, extinction.
Habitats of all kinds of birds are being reduced across the continent, from the olive-sided flycatcher to the chimney swifts, many of which resorted to roosting in chimneys when clearcuts destroyed their habitats. In his article for Audbuon entitled “Paper Chase,” author T. Edward Nickens speculates about the results of tearing down swaths of the North American boreal forest he was visiting: “Pushed into surrounding forests, [birds] likely had to compete with existing birds for both food and nesting sites, an exhausting process at a time when raising chicks is demanding enough”. In California, species such as the spotted owl are threatened due to clearcutting. The northern spotted owl, one of three spotted owl subspecies, became a lightning rod for the logging battle in the West: “Disappearing Bird is Symbol in Fight Over Logging Forest,” claims a 1986 Los Angeles Times article. The spotted owl is an “indicator species”; in other words, “the owls’ existence in the centuries-old forests provides a measure of how well the delicate web of life is being maintained within these disappearing ecosystems”. It’s an important species, and by monitoring the spotted owls’ successes and failures, we are able to determine how other wildlife is faring in their same habitat.
The northern spotted owl was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act by 1990, and remains threatened to this day. Despite a push to list the California spotted owl on the Endangered Species List, the federal government has steadfastly refused to even list it as threatened. In 2019, a petition that was filed to accurately reflect the conservation status of this bird was denied by the Fish and Wildlife Service, some think for political reasons. As of today, the California spotted owl remains off the Endangered Species list.
Interestingly enough, the timber industry claims that clearcuts are good for birds. They claim that clearcutting creates new spaces and habitats for birds, and helps to “maximize densities” of many successional bird species (“those that breed in young, disturbed, often shrubby forests”). However, clearcutting actually demolishes birds’ habitats and forces them into new spaces, competing for space with other species. How can this be good for our feathered friends? Clearcutting is shown to be detrimental to the environment, especially native wildlife.
Why does this matter? Well, beyond the moral necessity of preserving the lives of all species of animals on this planet, birds do so much for us. In fact, Audubon has an article entitled “What Do Birds Do for Us?” that details at length the myriad ways birds contribute to this planet. For example, they help protect our drinking water supply, they help prevent diseases, and they “stimulate economies just by being beautiful”. A cursory Google search will enumerate all the ways birds help humans. In return, it seems like the least we can do is help to preserve their habitats.
And there is much we can do to help our bird friends. In an episode of the wonderful and informative podcast BirdNote, when discussing the reduced nesting habitats of flickers and buffleheads caused by clearcutting, the host noted that both species “benefit when consumers choose paper products made from recycled paper.” Indeed, shopping for recycled paper products does more than just support avian nesting habitats decimated by clearcutting. The former forests Campaign Coordinator for Greenpeace Canada, Richard Brooks, has been quoted saying, “On average, 65 percent of the logging [in Canada] goes to pulp and paper.” That’s over half — imagine how much we could reduce demand by buying and using recycled paper products. Alternatively, one can purchase products made from sustainable wood alternatives such as hemp and bamboo.
Another way to help our feathered friends is to amplify our voices and speak out against clearcutting by writing letters to the editors of your local papers, joining a local chapter of an environmental organization, or even posting about it on social media. Fewer clearcuts mean more forests for our native bird species to live and thrive in.
Or you can buy Migratory Bird Stamps from the USPS. 98% of the proceeds go to the National Wildlife Refuge, where it’s then used to help preserve native bird habitats and land all over the country, among other great things. The purchase of these stamps also gets you into all National wildlife refuges for a full year, so you can visit and get to know your new favorite bird species.
