These are examples of the great migratory movements that enliven the West every spring and fall.

The long-distance migrations of seemingly fragile monarch butterflies are among nature’s most incredible phenomena, with eastern populations wintering in vast numbers in a tiny refuge in Mexico, and western populations at a few sheltered spots along the California coast.

Migration is central to the lives of many wild animals of great public interest and huge economic importance, from salmon to waterfowl to large mammals like pronghorn and elk. Just about everybody attuned to the natural world looks forward to some migratory milestone, whether it’s the arrival of the first robin of spring or the beginning of duck hunting season.

Thanks to advances in technology and data collection, this is a golden age for research on migration. Radar allows documentation of the magnitude of animals on the move: On a recent night, for example, it was estimated that 5.4 million birds were in the skies over Oregon.

The citizen science database eBird, combined with advances enabling the detection of signals from lightweight tags attached to migrating animals, have provided migration maps of stunning specificity. For an example with turkey vultures, go to https://tinyurl.com/mtndawtm.

At the same time, we are also coming to understand the many threats to migration. The drastic declines of Pacific salmon are known all too well. Elk and pronghorn face ever-increasing obstacles posed by highways, roads to access and extract fossil fuels and other developments on the landscape.

But what’s happening to migratory birds really tells the story. Based on many lines of evidence, scientists have concluded that 2.9 billion — yes, billion — breeding adult birds have been lost in the United States since the 1970s. That is one-third of the total bird population of the United States.

Of that 2.9 billion, 86%, 2.5 billion, are migratory species. Although declines of birds in the western part of the country are less severe overall than in the East, many of our familiar migrants are showing dramatic reductions, including rufous hummingbird, down 60%, common nighthawk, 58%, band-tailed pigeon, 57%, Lewis’s woodpecker, 67%, and evening grosbeak, 92%.

Why is this happening? The loss of habitat is the main problem for many species, especially grassland birds. For example, between 2018–19 alone, 2.6 million acres of grassland in the Great Plains were converted to row-crop agriculture. That’s an area larger than Yellowstone National Park. Loss of winter habitat in Mexico and Central America also threatens many species.

Human constructions from power lines to wind turbines to oil pits increase the dangers of migration for birds. The greatest hazard may seem mundane, but it’s ubiquitous: windows. Collisions with windows are estimated to kill a staggering billion birds in this country each year. Brightly lit skyscrapers are also a menace to songbirds, most migrating at night.

Climate change adds to the threats for migratory species. In addition to broad effects like widespread drought in the West and melting permafrost in the Arctic, climate change can scramble the relationship between migration timing and the availability of food resources. Hungry migrants may arrive in spring to find that the peak of insect abundance has already passed.

Fortunately, there are many things each of us can do to help migrating birds. First, advocate for the preservation of bird habitats – and provide your own by planting native fruiting and flowering plants on your land.

Second, take steps to reduce bird collisions with your windows. Many solutions are available, including “Zen wind curtains”: light cords hanging in front of the glass. For DIY instructions, and much other information, go to: https://tinyurl.com/2hf558nj. And keep your cats inside, as free-ranging cats take a staggering toll on birds.

Finally, support organizations that advocate for birds and their habitats or promote research on migratory birds, such as the National Audubon Society, the American Bird Conservancy, and the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology.

Together, we can save the lives of millions of birds, and help ensure their incredible migratory journeys never end.

Pepper Trail is a contributor to Writers on the Range, writersontherange.org, an independent nonprofit dedicated to spurring lively conversation about the West. He is a naturalist and writer in Oregon.

The post The fading miracle of migration appeared first on Writers On The Range.

At one point, a Bald Eagle swooped low over a mass of resting geese spurring all to take flight — tens of thousands of birds filling the sky — until the whole basin seemed to ring like a bell with their beating wings, their echoing cries.

Surrounded by such abundance, what else could I think but that the world is alive. That seems like a very long time ago as all our lives have been turned inside out by the coronavirus. We are out of school, or out of work, or out of money – or all three. No sports, no movies, no gatherings with friends.

In late March, our son in San Francisco came down with COVID-19 symptoms: a dry cough, fever, aches and fatigue. There were no tests to be had, so he self-quarantined in his tiny apartment. It was an anxious week, but by the end of it, he recovered, and we will probably never know if he was infected by the virus.

The world is alive, all right, but the pandemic has turned this from a rather glib platitude into a less comforting truth.

It is well established that this coronavirus is a zoonosis, a disease transmitted to humans from animals. It is believed to have originated in bats, and made the jump to humans via wildlife sold at a market in China. This is the same route followed by the earlier SARS outbreak, which transferred to humans from civet cats sold in wildlife markets.

Worldwide, the consumption of wildlife is still occurring at an immense scale – everything from snakes and turtles to birds, bats and monkeys. Much of this trade is illegal, but it continues unabated, and involves billions of dollars per year.

The global human population is approaching 8 billion. Almost every acre of arable land is under cultivation, and human domination of the world’s biosphere is so complete that many scientists say we have entered a new epoch, the Anthropocene. Yet somehow we continue to take everything we desire from nature as if we were still hunter-gatherers clinging to a precarious existence.

We would do well to remember this: the world is alive. And it will not submit quietly. This COVID-19 pandemic is actually relatively mild. It has a mortality rate of “only” about 3%. Can we doubt that there are more zoonoses out there, waiting to jump from animals to humans?

As population density increases, as environmental contamination, stress, and unhealthy diets weaken our immune systems, there could be worse pandemics to come. To protect ourselves from such predictable catastrophes, every country in the world needs to adopt, and enforce, an immediate ban on the sale of all wild-caught mammals.

That will be only a first small step. Climate change and the conversion of wild ecosystems, if unchecked, threaten to collapse the global bounty of “nature’s services.” These unpaid-for gifts reflect the workings of a healthy biosphere, and include the planetary water cycle and pollination of our food crops. It is now all too clear that the Earth’s continued benevolence is something that we must earn by our mindful care.

The conservation biologist E.O. Wilson has called for a “Half-Earth Pledge”: that we conserve half the Earth for biodiversity, ensuring that species and people have the space they need to thrive together. This will require us to acknowledge the self-evident fallacy of unlimited growth in human population and consumption. Well, better sooner – with foresight – than later – in the midst of catastrophe.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a long-overdue wake-up call. Throughout human history, we’ve too often seen the natural world as separate from ourselves, as both a relentless enemy and an inexhaustible treasure house. That must change. If we are to survive, we need to enter into an entirely different relationship with the world. No relationship can be based only on the desires of one partner. Respect must be given. Consequences must be considered.

The world is not a thing to be used. It is our indispensible partner in human survival. It is alive.

Pepper Trail is a contributor to Writers on the Range.org, a nonprofit dedicated to spurring lively conservation about the West. He is a conservation biologist, photographer and poet who roams the Klamath-Siskiyou Bioregion from his home in

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