Encyclopaedia of Birdcare

Conservation

The maintenance of a balance between the earth's resources, including wildlife, and man's use of them. Such activities as feeding birds and putting up nest boxes can make a real contribution to conservation by helping to compensate for harmful human effects on birds, for example:

• Destruction of the countryside to make way for urban and industrial development

• Replacement of native woodland by exotic trees

• Intensification of agriculture, with consequent loss of hedges and stubbles (with their supplies of waste grain and weed seeds), plus increased use of chemicals

• Drainage of natural sources of water

• Disappearance of old trees and traditional buildings containing holes and crannies for nesting

• Pollution of land, water and air

• Increased disturbance of wild places

The overall effect of these developments is loss of habitat for wildlife, and the resulting disappearance of feeding places and nest sites. feeding birds and providing nest boxes can help to redress the balance. People interested in birds should also consider joining an organisation which is involved in conservation, such as the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) in the UK or the National Audubon Society in the USA.

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