Threats to Nesting Birds:

The following threats are listed from most to least losses, although many of these threats are difficult to
count accurately. Also, loss of habitat and habitat degradation can be linked to climate change pressures
and disease issues.
Loss of Habitat and Degradation: Affects over 80% of threatened and endangered birds; loss of native
grasslands, forests and wetlands due to development

Agricultural development; increased cropland and loss of forests; pesticide use

Logging and replanting with different, incompatible species
Commercial development
Coal, oil and gas exploration: fragmentation, disturbance, polluted run-off
Fire suppression, changes in routine fire; understory in forest can get too thick for scrub birds;
fragmentation from fire suppression
Water diversion for flood control, drinking water, dams

Global Warming: Earlier spring migration and nesting leads to mismatch in resources. Birds that migrate
from tropical places may not be able to time nesting and raising young with maximum insect and
caterpillar availability. (Wells, 2010). Loss of food sources that may move or collapse because not
suitable to warmer climate
Nonnative species and disease: nearly 70% affected by non-natives and 40% by disease (Wells, 2010)
Introduced insects and loss of native habitat that supports endangered species
West Nile Virus detected in over 220 different bird species
Avian flu
Predation from pets/ feral animals and non-natives:

Cats kill an estimated 1 billion birds per year (Klem, 2015)

Dogs kill ground-nesting birds and wetland birds
Non-native species like rats and snakes eat eggs

Incidental deaths
Car strikes
Lighted windows
Longlines for fishing: birds caught on hooks and drowned
Transmission line/ wind and cell tower collisions
Hunting: water fowl and ring-necked pheasant

References:
Kahle, L. Q., Flannery, M. E., & Dumbacher, J. P. (2016, January 5). Bird-Window Collisions at a WestCoast Urban Park Museum: Analyses of Bird Biology and Window Attributes from Golden Gate Park, San
Francisco [Scholarly project]. In Public Library of Science. Retrieved July 21, 2016, from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26731417
Klem, D. (2015, November 7). Bird-Window Collisions: A Critical Animal Welfare and Conservation
Issue. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare, 18(1), S17.
Wells, J. B. (2010). Birders Conservation Handbook: 100 North American Birds at Risk. Princeton, NJ:
Princeton University Press.