Each time our political leader celebrate the increase in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) they are telling what must be seen as a Government Accounting Fraud (GAF) by failing to subtract the Gross Domestic Damage (GDD ) that in caused to human mental and physical health, sustainable environmental and resource management by current polices and economic theories. One day soon politicians will be held criminally liable for GAF like CEO are held accountable for financial accounting fraud. The unsustainable nurturing of natures species will be one category that they will have to address with more than lip service because our life also depends on the birds well being.

Thank you for bringing attention to the sad situation for many bird species. I hope we can do something to stop furthur loss

I wish your piece "Bye Bye Birdie" had been titled, "And No Birds Sang" (Farley Mowat). The dissapearance of these and other wonderous birds is yet another blaring harbinger of the consequences of global pollution. Do we need another? Natural Selection works - to an extent.
I wish the wake-up call was that of a Wood Thrush.

The demise of our songbirds is really sad!! Where I live, 15 minutes away from a semi-urban area and an hour away from Montreal, there used to be 'clouds' of evening grosbeaks flocking and screeching around my birdfeeders. Since the ice-storm of 1998, when we were out of power for 8 days and the trees were covered with ice for weeks, if I now see a half-dozen evening grosbeaks throughout the whole winter, that is a lot; mostly, there are only 2, 3 or even NONE per winter! Same story for many other species, but in my opinion, the decline of the evening grosbeaks has been the most dramatic!

First of all Patti, you've hit the nail right on the head. Unfortunately this is what passes for democracy in this day and age. In the private sector these folks would be dismissed immediately. Since Canadians lack that power over their politicians, it would behoove them to do a better job of vetting those whom they hire to run the country in the first place. Our present crop of politicos, along with the likes of Rudy Dyck, should be tarred, feathered and run out of the country on a rail as a lesson to all. But then, that won't happen, will it?

One more comment about Rudy Dyck. I partially doubt that Rudy Dyck is a real person. His name and the absurdity of his arguement suggests this was invented and posted with the intention to raise emotions.

Thank you so much for producing this story and getting the word out on this problem. It is so good to finally see some attention given to long-term study of bird population trends that have been undertaken by Bird Studies Canada (BSC) and the Canadian Wildlife Service (among others).

These studies - such as the bird-banding the Stu Mackenzie demonstrated in the segment, and the Breeding Bird Survey that Bev mentions below - are excellent examples of volunteerism in action. Almost all the field work is done by qualified “citizen scientists” who devote their free time to the cause of conservation. I hope that this documentary might encourage more people to become involved.

Just a comment on nature of the evidence: The data coming out of these projects has been incorporated into peer-reviewed papers in scientific journals, and the conclusions are incontrovertible: Many species are showing significant downward trends. This is not a case of a few birdwatchers no longer spotting as many birds in places where they are used to seeing them, it is a continent-wide trend that is demonstrated by decades of patient, disciplined data collection. Anecdotal evidence, a few sightings of good numbers of birds here and there, cannot hold against rigorous scientific evidence such as that gathered by BSC. “One swallow does not a summer make”.

Peter Coo
Kitchener, ON.

please help us to keep the birds

Rudy Dyck so you have Red-headed Woodpeckers in Edmonton huh, and you have Finches nesting in bird boxes huh. It is sad really that your comment even made it to this board, as Red-headed Woodpeckers do not even come close to Edmonton let alone Alberta, and Finches do not nest in Boxes, never have and never will, let alone two per pair per box.

Just the fact that this charachter (Rudy Dyck) is refering to these women as 'little old ladies' sarcastically, should tell everyone a little bit about the attitude and credibility of the poster.

Something to consider, when observing higher numbers of birds than usual in an area not normally seen ..like this person is saying..he never saw them before; birds that are endangered will clump and move into areas they have not been in before..BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO, OR THEY'LL DIE.

I live with birds every day all day long and live in the wilderness. This guy (Rudy Dyck) is a spin doctor. Sounds bitter to me!

Unfortunately for the human species, like so many birds and animal species that have gone before us, we too will eventually go extinct. One simple answer is we are all overpopulating the planet and at the same time driving our own demise. The demand on earths resources to provide enough food to sustain such growth is what's bringing about this phenomenon. It is such a pity that scenerio of the film "Soilent Green" could and most likely be the future for Planet Earth. Maybe not in my lifetime but it will eventually become reality, there is nothing more sure than that. The superiority of the human species with it's arrogance are the seeds of it's own decline. As I write, those seeds are germinating very rapidly and like a cancer spreading at such a rate that it will be impossible to treat or cure. Our political masters have a solution at hand but because of the vested interests in a sound ecconomy and the next term in parliament do nothing to stop the ongoing saga. Like all previous civilisations throughout history we too will bring about our own decline and fall. As a grandparent I attempt to arouse an interest in my grandchildren to be more aware of this problem however, with so few of us willing or able to spend time educating the next generation sadly we are fighting a losing battle.

Rudy Dyck's comment really contradicts itself to the point that I had to laugh a bit. He says the story on songbirds is "bunk" and they are still there but then says you just have to go "deeper into the forests, go further north, go deeper into the marshes". Doesn't he wonder why that is?

I doubt many viewers are surprised. We've all heard this song before. Does it really matter?

Yes.

As Canadians, we seem to hold the belief that our leaders are wise, and if there is a problem here, the leadership has the resources and the wisdom to acquire good advice and then to take appropriate action. Do you believe that?

The problem is that this country is really owned by its citizens; and the majority of them live in urban areas. The owners cannot see what is happening across the land, so how can they know what they must demand of their leaders?

There is a major cultural situation that acts as a barrier to effective action. European-Canada was founded by people coming here for the rich resources. Fish were plentiful, the farm lands were free, and the forests were endless. Even today, miners talk about their 'right to mine.' Many family histories contain proud tales of 'taming the wilderness' and 'breaking the land.'

That was then.

The new owners -- the current generation -- have to cope with what is left. As owners, we can continue to behave as exploiters. It is time to learn how to behave as stewards. We need to think about what we are leaving for our children. As owners, this is our responsibility.

I agree with John that the cuts to the CWS will make it even more difficult to recognize how quickly bird populations are disappearing. So you'll have more people like Rudy Dyck who sees 6 blue jays outside his window and thinks all's well in the rest of the country. It's not, and all it takes is a look at the scientific research by Audubon and Bird Studies Canada to see that. By the way, there is a letter writing campaign out there urging the Government to re-think it's cuts to the CWS. You can join the campaign from Nature Canada's web site.

Further to John's comment: Much of the data for the Audubon report came from the North American Breeding Bird Survey which, in Canada, is run by the Canadian Wildlife Service and relies on hundreds of volunteers and a few staff...

Your story on the song birds tonight is absolute "bunk". Just because your little ladies from the Golden Horshoe don't see the same birds anymore doesn't mean they aren't there! Just tell the ladies to go deeper in the forests, go further north, go deeper in the marshes. They are still around. Here in Edmonton I have 6 Blue Jays visiting my Oak tree regularly. I have 2 Red headed woodpeckers in the neighborhood. We have finches by the dozens nesting in every birdhouse I can put up, sometimes 2 pair to a house. I have a well occupied purple martin apartment. This is in an urban environment. At the cottage they are even more plentiful. None of these birds used to come here. Maybe your little old ladies need to go a little farther afield and maybe you do too. I think it was a report done by a reporter who didn't do her homework. It was sceintifically unsound and distorted the truth and pure fodder for our "cry wolf" environmentalists.

I saw this documentary last night. My God, CBC could have gone into a little more details. Not only the Audubon count reveals alarming trends in bird populations. That would have been also a great opportunity to talk about budget cuts in the Canadian Wildlife Service. How can we help the birds if we don't monitor them properly?

I have e-mailed the site to my powers that be.
Thank for letting me vent
Barbara Wayte

Bye bye birdy bring me to an interesting and troubling facts related to other creatures in our environment. I grew up 150 yards of the Thames river and as a boy used to find dozens of garter snakes, today cannot even find one.In the summer you could see dozens of toads that were run over by cars on the road, today not a one.Used to go to Port Stanley and catch dozens of perch, today you can fish for dozens of weeks and catch none.We are losing all these creatures, a part of our environment.Is humanity next as we know it? Oh to turn the clock back 50 years.........Dennis Pike,LOndon,Ont. in my 60's

Another story of wildlife in decline in Canada. What a tragedy but not a surprise. For decades our federal government was warned the fishery was in trouble. What was done to stop the devastation. They have been told the butterflies are missing, the polar ice is melting, the ozone layer has holes. What did our leaders do for us? When the birds stop singing and there are no fish in the sea...something should ring a bell. I'm sorry to say we
can only blame ourselves,Canadians continue to support governments that deliver only lip service to our environment. All I can say is we get what we deserve.
Patti Boudreau
Williams Point, N.S.

Excellent programming on pesticides and bird decline,
however what seemingly always goes unreported is the massive contamination to the environment as a result of
Military Bases.
I live near CFB Gagetown with its ongoing 50 years of massive herbicidal spraying to defoliate there, and understand there are also over 1,000 U.S. military bases around the world with massive contamination going
totally unreported. Ignored!!