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Pacific ​Northwest Birds Show Resilience to ⁤Climate Change

A 30-year ⁤”snapshot study” ‌of⁤ birds in the Pacific Northwest ‍is showing their‍ surprising resilience in the face ⁤of climate change.

the ⁢project started when Georgia Tech School of Biological Sciences Assistant‌ Professor Benjamin Freeman⁤ found a⁢ study by‍ Louise Waterhouse detailing birds in the ​mountains near Vancouver ​three decades ago.

What followed was an ecological scavenger hunt: Freeman revisited ⁤each of the old field sites, navigating using his​ local ⁢knowledge ‌and Waterhouse’s hand-drawn maps.

Freeman, who grew⁤ up in‌ Seattle, mainly ‌studies⁢ the ecology of tropical birds-but the revelation of waterhouse’s paper made him⁤ curious about ‌research closer to home.

The results were surprising: over the last three decades, most of the bird populations in the region were stable and had been increasing in abundance at higher elevations.

The study appears in the ‍journal Ecology.

“It is ⁤indeed great news‍ that most birds in the region are⁤ resilient,and by doing this‌ work,we can focus on the​ species that do need help,like the canada Jay,which ⁤is struggling in this region,” ​Freeman says.”Studies like this help us focus resources and effort.”

Conducting the fieldwork ⁤was a‍ detective game, Freeman says. Each ‌day, he would wake up at four⁣ in the morning to locate and visit the research areas-often navigating trails, open forest, and rough terrain ⁣on foot.

This area of the Pacific Northwest⁤ is⁢ punctuated with‍ old-growth stands of trees-sections of forest that have never ‍been ⁢logged or altered.

“These areas feel⁣ like islands,” Freeman shares. “They feel ancient and untouched, but even⁣ in pristine habitats, birds are still affected by ⁤climate‍ change.”