(Reprinted with permission from Burien Wild Birds Unlimited)

Did you know that the year 2018 was declared the Year of the Bird? 2018 marked the 100 th anniversary of the enactment of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. National Geographic, National Audubon Society, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, BirdLife International and more than 100organizations joined forces around the world to share stories and science examining how the changing environment was impacting the lives of birds.

The goal was to heighten public awareness of birds because of their wonder and beauty and because they symbolize nature’s interconnectedness and the importance of caring for our shared planet.

The editors of Audubon magazine asked a number of avian enthusiasts why birds matter. Their responses ranged from practical to poetic, personal to global, and still ring true today. There were too many to print all of them but here are some of my favorites:

• Birds make any place a chance for discovery, they make a garden seem wild, they are a little bit ofwilderness coming into a city park, and for a bird watcher every walk is filled with anticipation. What feathered jewel might drop out of the sky next? – David Sibley, author
  
• Birds represent a link to both our natural environment and to the possibility of freedom to soar without boundaries. – Rue Mapp, founder of Outdoor Afro
  
• Birds matter because they give us wings. And because if we save the birds , we save the world. – Pepper Trail, USFWS forensic ornithologist
  
• When we save birds from large-scale threats, we see that what’s good for birds is also good for us. This is true about agriculture, fishing, climate change. As we solve their problems, we solve ours.
  
• This is about everyone’s quality of life. – Gary Langham, National Audubon science director
  
• Birds are the catalyst for taking me outdoors and shaping the way I live and think. If we can all share this appreciation of the natural world and its positive impact on our lifestyles, the planet will be a different place. – Richard Crossley, birder, photographer, author of The Crossley ID Guide
  
• No other creature can transcend earth, evoke beauty, inspire dreams, and ground us in nature as does even the smallest bird. – Julie Sacco, director of North Park Village Nature Center
  
• Birds add beauty to our lives, interesting behavior to observe, and are prime indicators of how well we are taking care of our planet. – Donna McCarty, Birdathon chair, Amos W Butler Audubon Society
  
• Birds matter because they represent freedom to me, the freedom to come and go. They are frequently not tied down to one place, but spend time in vastly different places on earth, often migrating huge distances. – Evi Meyer, Palos Verdes/South Bay Audubon
  
• Birds matter because they are a basic, integral part of the earth’s ecosystem. As in any system, the loss of one part will ultimately cause the downfall of the whole. – Jean Ashby, Education co-chair, Skagit Audubon
  
• When life becomes heavy and worries pull me down like gravity, I simply look up and suddenly there, in the weightless free air, soaring like kites, flitting from branch to branch, unencumbered, my friends the birds release my soul and I am free again. – Carl Schreiner, Eagle, Nebraska
  
• They provide structure to our native plant communities by spreading seeds and consuming vast quantities of insects. Without them we humans probably would cease to exist. – Mike North, Brainerd Lakes Area Audubon Society
  
• Birds hold wisdom. The indigenous people know that to be true. They are messengers. To allow or cause a species to become extinct is to lose that knowledge. Forever. – Cindy Fogle, Maggie Valley, North Carolina
  
• They bring hope, beauty, music and wonder to this planet. – Ramona Sahni

Visit BirdYourWorld.com to find out more.

Until next time,
Millie, the Muse of Mews