Photo credit: Pixabay
by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition
Former Boston Herald Sunday Magazine gardening columnist Catherine Greenleaf moved to Vermont some years ago, became interested in birds and now records the Birdhugger podcast twice a month. She recently interviewed Quiet Communities’ and The Quiet Coalition’s Arline Bronzaft about the importance of quiet for birds.
As Arline points out, for both birds (and other animals including fish and marine mammals) and humans, noise is unwanted and/or harmful sound. Noise interferes with bird communication, thereby interfering with birds finding food, avoiding predators and finding mates. Noise pollution can even harm birds before their eggs hatch. Noise pollution includes aviation noise, which in addition to interfering with bird communication can make it hard to hear birdsong, even if the birds are there.
It’s well worth spending the half hour listening to Arline sharing her wisdom about birds. I hope the podcast will inspire bird lovers and everyone concerned about the environment to join Quiet Communities in working to make the world a quieter place. A quieter world will be a better and healthier world for all, including our fine feathered friends.
