The article <a href="https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/07/29/more-than-half-of-earths-migratory-bird-species-are-declining/" author="Peter Marra – Nathan W. Cooper" source="CounterPunch">More Than Half of Earth’s Migratory Bird Species are Declining</a> writes, <bq><b>We found that more than half of the world’s migratory bird species are declining because of an array of threats</b>, including habitat loss, invasive species that harm birds, collisions with buildings, hunting, the pet trade, toxic pesticides and, in some cases, being caught in commercial fishing nets. But our study offers a second conclusion with more hope. <b>The science around migratory birds has changed dramatically over the past two decades, and conservation can help save these incredible species – if governments act before they become endangered.</b></bq> Oh, great! That sounds pretty easy, right? Wait. Yeah, governments are not going to do that. Governments no longer do those kinds of things. They might talk about it, though! That would be fun, right? Why don't they do these things anymore? Because they're no short-term gain in it, neither for the politicians personally nor for their sponsors. Too bad for you, birds. <bq>Around the world, conservation initiatives repeatedly demonstrate that when threats are identified and addressed, bird populations recover. <b>The pesticide DDT almost caused the extinction of species such as the bald eagle, peregrine falcon and osprey, but humans stepped in, banned its use, and all species recovered.</b></bq> As inspiring at it is that humans were once able to do this, the inspiration is accompanied by a wistfulness for a time gone by. It's hard to imagine anything like that happening anymore. Now, we're much more likely to hear the birds accused of interfering with the economy. And migratory birds don't even live in the countries that would have to dish out precious funds that could be spent on data centers instead! Migrants are an incredibly easy political target. A layup. The birds will have to go. <bq>Next spring, bobolinks will once again return to North America’s grasslands. Newell’s shearwaters will navigate thousands of miles of open ocean back to Hawaii. Spoon-billed sandpipers will once again attempt one of the world’s most extraordinary migrations. <b>Whether future generations can continue to see these magnificent migrations will depend on the choices of current generations and the steps they take to save them.</b></bq> Look, it's not happening. Luckily, kids don't go outside anymore. They barely even know what that means. And, for those who'd like a peek at how it once was, there's always videos and pictures for them, I guess. I've heard that AI has gotten pretty good at generating shit like that. They'll never know the difference, the poor bastards. <img src="{att_link}migratory_birds_at_sunset.webp" href="{att_link}migratory_birds_at_sunset.webp" align="none" caption="Migratory birds at sunset" scale="50%">