Birds link us to the natural world every day of the year -- even in the most urban settings. Birds do so much for us. They keep our ecosystems running smoothly by controlling rodents and insect pests, scavenging wastes and pollinating plants. And there’s much to be learned by getting out the binoculars and watching common birds.
As our best-known group of living things, birds are easy to identify and count. The results, over time, show us where our environment is not what it used to be, and when the decline (or improvement) started happening.
