What to Do About a Dead Bird

Billions of birds are directly killed and injured each year across North America by human-related hazards, including outdoor free-roaming cats, collisions with windows, buildings and vehicles, pesticides, entanglement in plastic pollution, and more. These anthropogenic sources of bird mortality have contributed to a significant decline in bird abundance across the continent since the 1970s. To keep common birds common and prevent rare birds from going extinct, we must reduce multiple threats to birds simultaneously.

Awareness of the magnitude of many of these threats to birds is low and we have limited data specific for Eastern Washington or the Pacific Northwest. This missing data could provide important local context to build support for policies and practices that improve conditions for birds. We can begin to assemble a local dataset by using dBird.org, a free, online tool for crowd sourcing data on bird mortality. Spokane Audubon Society would like to promote this platform. Please report your sightings of dead birds at https://dbird.org/.