A World Without Birds

Imagine a world without birds. There would be a silence that is difficult to describe. We would hear noise from the wind, but no birds calling or singing… only an odd type of silence would be heard.

Gone would be the flashes of colors - the yellows, reds, blacks, whites, oranges, and sometimes blues. We would have colors of wildflowers, trees, grass, soils, and sky, but missing would be the hues that catch our eyes flitting about.

Think of how overrun with insects and grubs we would be. Conditions would be much, much worse than things can get now - all because we are missing birds.

I am not sure we always appreciate birds in our environment. Often they are taken for granted or even despised. For certain we don’t understand all of the vital roles birds play in our habitat.

Very early this morning I was out watching birds from my canoe as the sun came up. From my vantage point I observed great crested flycatchers, yellow-throated vireos, northern cardinals, house wrens, and prothonotary warblers as they fed after a long quiet night. The number of grubs and insects taken in the couple of hours as I watched was amazing. I never saw a single grub, but the birds obviously found them and consumed them. Just in my little spot on the river I would have been overrun by grubs if birds were not out on a daily basis keeping their population in check.

It is no secret that I like birds. To prove it today I will share some prothonotary warbler images along with a yellow-throated vireo picture recorded this morning.