The Bird Connection

A green heron catches a fish in a small roadside wetland in Lenawee County.

Birders flock to the Capitol to urge lawmakers to pass bills to improve the environment

Lester Graham

Audubon Great Lakes members held an advocacy day for the first time in Michigan. Wetlands topped the agenda, but was just one item in a list to improve the environment.

A great blue heron with a freshly caught fish at Watkins Lake State Park and County Preserve in Michigan. Even common birds like this are declining because of loss of habitat.

Environment & Climate Change

The Bird Connection: Change and decline in our world, Part 3 - Habitat Loss

Lester Graham

The loss and degradation of wetlands has had a profound effect on many birds. There are efforts to restore them, but the rate of loss is greater.

Hook, line, and sinker. Julie Melotti with the Michigan DNR points out the hook, swivel, and sinker a trumpeter swan swallowed. The sinker was made of lead and the swan died from lead poisoning.

Environment & Climate Change

The Bird Connection: Change and decline in our world, Part 2 - Pollution

Lester Graham

The second part in a series about waterbirds in the Great Lakes region and the pollutants that are contributing to their population declines.

During a 2005 outbreak of botulism type E, interns at the Presque Isle State Park in Erie, Pennsylvania put a dead bird into a garbage bag for incineration. (file photo)

Environment & Climate Change

The Bird Connection: Change and decline in our world, Part 1 - Disease

Lester Graham

This is part one of a three part series on the reasons behind declining bird populations and how they are connected to humans.