Losing Wild Birds: Where did my sparrows, finches & other birds go?

Western bluebird by Joe Oliver, Walnut Creek, Calif.

A new Audubon California study released today (Feb. 10) finds that the state will lose significant numbers of its native birds as climate change quickly shrinks the range and habitat of more than 100 species.
You can read the whole news story here: http://www.contracostatimes.com/search/ci_11667912?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com

Robin by Joe Oliver, Walnut Creek, Calif.

Over a year ago I started getting e-mails and letters from my readers asking me, “Where are my wild birds?”
The weather had been weird — hot when it should have been cold, cold when it should have been hot, dry when it needed to be wet … sound familiar?
So I did one of my quickie little surveys. The results were published in the Jan. 5, 2008 Home and Garden Section of our Bay Area News Group-East Bay newspapers. Basically, 90 bird species had been spotted in 152 Bay Area backyards in 37 Bay Area cities. I also provided a list of the 90 species.
We’ve got a golden opportunity here to do another survey today and compare the results with my survey of a year ago to see if our local wild bird and wild bird species numbers are indeed dropping as the Audubon Society study suggests. Have the numbers gone down from a year ago? Let’s find out.
All you need to do is take a few moments to follow the instructions below. This is the identical survey request I sent out a year ago.
Please help us see if we are indeed losing some of our wild bird species. I’ll also publicize this information in my daily newspaper columns to help us get as wide a response as possible. This is the same thing I did a year ago.
Killdeer by Joe Oliver, Walnut Creek, Calif.

Survey: GOT BIRDS?
What kinds of birds do you see in your yard?
I’m doing a quickie survey on the subject. I get a lot of mail asking, “Where are my birds?” Apparently some people don’t see very many, so I thought I’d check and try to find out.
Please take a moment to send me a list of the different types of bird species you’ve seen in your front yard or backyard in the past two weeks (songbirds, quails, herons, woodpeckers, doves, hummingbirds, hawks, owls, waterfowl, whatever).
Have you noticed a drop in the bird numbers of any species? Which species? Are there any species that you’ve stopped seeing? Which ones?
Also include your name, city, nearest cross streets to your house, and a phone number (I’ll keep it confidential) in case I have a quick question. I’ll print the results of this survey here in my blog and in my column. Thanks!
** Enter the information under Comments/Reply below.
The adventure begins. /Gary
Read the Audubon California study here: ca.audubon.org
White pelican by Joe Oliver, Walnut Creek, Calif.