North American bird population has fallen by 2.9 billion since 1970, according to a study published in Science in 2019. John Fitzpatrick, the director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, called this “a staggering loss that suggests the very fabric of North America’s ecosystem is unraveling.”

One of my personal favorite birds, the Dark-eyed Junco, has declined in numbers by 168 million birds. These little birds used to show up by the dozens at our backyard feeders every time there was snow on the ground.