The Birds of May

News Release

Contact: Nick Sammartino

Celebrate Birds in May! 

Throughout the month of May, people across the United States will be celebrating birds. For instance, Utah’s governor Gary Herbert has declared May the month of birds, seeking to, as KUTV says, “celebrate over 400 native and migratory birds that fly over the state this time of year, and the natural resources that support them.”

If you are looking for a brick-and-mortar event, the Smithsonian Zoo in Washington, DC, will be holding a festival on May 12th dedicated to World Migratory Bird Day. Admission is free, and the zoo will have various games and activities meant to entertain children and adults alike with information about hundreds of birds. There will also be education stations that offer insights into migration patterns, avian conservation, and how everyone can “help protect migratory birds at home.”

With recent reports coming out of from France, regarding the catastrophic decline of European birds such as the skylark and the grey partridge, it has become imperative that we as environmentally-conscious citizens start questioning our role in the natural world. We must be asking how we can better treat the creatures with whom we share Earth and how we can lessen the impact of our products on local habitats and their inhabitants. The reports from Europe cite a number of pesticides as causes for the almost 421 million birds removed from the population, due to mass death of insects, which are the birds’ main source of food.

North American birds face a similar threat; while migrating North over farms, they consume seeds applied with neonicotinoids: a common pesticide. So this year you should go out, have fun, and learn about how you can contribute to the conservation of our feathered friends in the sky!