Saving Habitat Key to Songbird's Survival. By: Reuben Negron

                                                     (Photo Credit to University of Cincinnati) 
As we all know, many species throughout the world are becoming extinct and endangered as I type this very blog. One species in particular is the Golden-winged Warbler. Once a abundant and harmonious creature, it now struggles to even make its beautiful and harmonious songs heard throughout the world. One important thing to know about this bird is that back about 50 years ago it was on an enormous upswing in regards to population, but since 1966 these birds have been subject to dramatic declines in population and are still unprotected by the Endangered Species Act of 1973. It is completely mind boggling how such a beautiful creature can remain unprotected when the numbers clearly show how much they are truly being affected by us humans. A lot of care should be being taken to ensure the safety of these birds, but currently isn't.

One person who has been studying these Golden-winged Warblers for over 25 years now and is more concerned than ever is a man named Ronald Canterbury. These birds songs were once heard from the Southern Appalachians through several places including Southern Canada. Now the majority of these birds can only be scarcely found in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Ontario. Canterbury is very worried about these birds and says, "If you go to the watch lists, like Audubon or American Bird Conservancy, the Golden-winged Warbler is going to be in the top 5 and sometimes even the No. 1 bird of critical concern in its breeding range." This quote shows how much danger these birds are actually in and how much concern should actually be taken regarding these birds. 

These birds are currently facing two major threats and the most important and obvious being humans. We are mining most of their habitat, in order to level out mountains for easier access to coal. This process is basically moving the warblers out of their habitat where they are able to thrive and causing major population drops. The second major threats to these warblers are their sister species, the Blue-winged Warbler. The major difference between these two birds is that the Blue-winged Warblers are able to thrive in lower elevation habitats and spreading to mountainsides and competing with the Golden-wing Warblers. The only way to save these birds essentially is figure out how many are left and preserve them by any means necessary, because they are such a beautiful creature and deserve at least a fighting chance to survive. 

This topic is quite relevant to our Ecology class because it deals with species competition with one another and how much humans are truly affecting species with their behavior. We must come together as people and see how much of an effect we are not only having on the environment, but the people who live in it as well. Something must be done, sooner rather than later in order to save not only the Golden-winged Warblers, but other species alike. This article was truly eye opening for me and made me realize just how much of an effect humans are having on animals who are basically endangered and how we must make major leas forward protecting the species, which live on earth.

Sources: University of Cincinnati. "Saving habitat key to songbird's survival." ScienceDaily, 26 Mar. 2012. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. 
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120326113107.htm
Photo: Same website as above, Photo Credit to University of Cincinnati.