CLIMATE CHANGE
If you’ve ever gone in search of a rare bird, you know that they’re often rare because of a limited range. The Great Kiskadee, a large flycatcher, used to be one of those birds. Although not rare, per se, if you wanted to see a kiskadee in the U.S. two decades ago, the most reliable place would have meant traveling to the very southern tip of Texas.
As a primarily tropical species and despite a few strays, the year-round hot South Texas climate was the very northern limit for the kiskadee. Today, the kiskadee has spread north to Interstate 10 and all the way up the Texas coast to Houston and eastward along the Louisiana coast, in part due to the presence of man-made oases like parks, but also perhaps because temperatures are warmer than they used to be, extending the range of the kiskadee.
Weather data consistently show that summers across the U.S. are hotter and longer in duration than ever before. This will have significant impacts on the distribution of birds around the world. Some distributions of birds might expand, but those species that occur in narrow, restricted habitats could be in big trouble.
For further reading on this topic of climate change, visit bbc.com/news/articles.
Regardless of your thoughts on the topic of climate change, improving our nation’s automobile efficiency standards, limiting pollution emission levels, minimizing the clearing of natural habitats like forests and prairie, and protecting open space are only going to make our nation a better, cleaner, and healthier place to live – now and for our grandchildren. Do it for the owls!