Aug 7, 2021 4 min read

Bird conservation efforts are taking flight both nationally and locally.

On July 29, U.S. Rep. Alan Lowenthal, D-Calif., Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., and 47 cosponsors introduced the Migratory Bird Protection Act of 2021 to the House, to reaffirm long-standing protections for migratory birds against the unintentional but predictable killing of birds.

“I am proud to join Rep. Lowenthal in introducing the bipartisan Migratory Bird Protection Act, which takes important steps to protect millions of migratory birds,” Fitzpatrick said in an email. “We must ensure that longstanding protections for birds are fully maintained while providing greater regulatory certainty.”

A form of the MBPA has been on the books since 1918, when Congress passed the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to prevent overhunting as demand for feathers to adorn women’s hats soared.

“It was landmark legislation,” said Jim Bonner, executive director of the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania. “The definition of an illegal (kill) was reinterpreted under the past administration. They instructed through the Interior Department that they would not prosecute unless the people involved knowingly intended to kill birds, which is a complete reversal from the past 100 years. That’s the primary reason for re-establishing it.”

In 2017, the Trump administration rolled back the policy, announcing the government would no longer enforce the law against companies or individuals involved in accidental bird deaths. The introduction of this latest Migratory Bird Protection Act aims to give industry and individuals clear and consistent expectations for bird protection.

Bird protection is crucial, said Bonner, because in the past 30 years the nation has experienced a net loss of 3 million birds. A recent study by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported that of the 7.2 billion birds in North America, an estimated 460 million to 1.4 billion birds are killed annually. Bird conservation efforts are crucial everywhere, but they’re particularly important in Pennsylvania.

“Pennsylvania just happens to have a nice diversity of bird species. We’re on a flyway, we have many birds pass through the state. Being able to provide protection while they’re here nesting, flying over (is important),” he said.

Though the Pennsylvania Game Commission is considering adding the northern goshawk, a raptor species that on rare occasions flies into Southwestern Pennsylvania, to the state endangered species list, celebration is in order for the recovery of a native raptor species.

“Peregrines have continued to rebound, much like bald eagles and other raptor species,” said Bonner, referring to the removal of the bald eagle from the state endangered species list in 2007. “Peregrines are an interesting bird; they’ve adapted to living in cities. There’s a nesting pair on the Cathedral of Learning (in Pittsburgh); they nest under a number of our bridges.”

There’s also an active peregrine nest in Washington County, said Seth Mesoras, information and education supervisor for the state Game Commission. He noted that buildings and bridges are similar to the falcon’s natural cliff ledge habitat.

More than 40 pairs of peregrine falcons called the state home in the early 1900s, but by the middle of the 20th century, the bird had entirely disappeared from the eastern U.S. The peregrine falcon was reintroduced to Pennsylvania in the 1970s and ’80s and by 2012, there were 32 known nests in the state.

“They’ve made a comeback,” said Mesoras. “We don’t feel they are threatened anymore.”

The falcon was removed from the Federal Endangered Species List in 1999, and Mesoras said he thinks the peregrine falcon will be removed from the state threatened species list this fall when the state Game Commission meets in September.

“The population has increased pretty well over the past number of years,” said Mesoras. “Through the right efforts, the right management, the right science, the right protections and partnerships, it can be achieved.”

The Game Commission is accepting public comment on the peregrine’s status via email at peregrine@pa.gov through Sept. 5.

Mesoras said removing the peregrine falcon from the threatened species list will not leave it unprotected. The Game Commission is considering raising the fine for killing a peregrine falcon from $200 (the protected species fine) to $2,500.

“Given that peregrines do tend to nest currently around people, there’s a greater chance that people might interact with them. They’re a pretty dramatic and dynamic bird; they’re just kind of obvious when they’re in an area. They’re a little more susceptible to being harassed. A slightly higher fine is appropriate,” Bonner said.

The passage of more stringent conservation laws like the MBPA and continued efforts statewide and nationally can help save bird species vital to the ecosystem.

“Trying to protect (birds) is critically important. What happens to birds first will happen to us after,” said Bonner. “Where birds thrive, people prosper.”