Birdwatching has become a popular pastime. Birdwatchers are convinced that birds have intrinsic value and that protecting them is essential. However, enthusiasm doesn’t always lead to social consensus. Elected officials answer to voters, and corporate executives answer to shareholders. University of Utah ornithologist Cagan Sekercioglu says that to influence policymakers, it’s crucial to “offer credible research showing that healthy bird populations are essential to human welfare.”
Birds provide what scientists call “ecosystem services.” They help the timber industry by eating bugs that damage trees. They also spread seeds that grow into plants, which prevent erosion and protect drinking water.
As January 1911 neared its halfway point, with snow on the ground and cold in the air, birdwatching might have been the last thing on the minds of most North Dakotans. Well, most of them. One North Dakota farmer had birds on his mind and proved to be ahead of his time by urging conservation and the protection of songbirds.
George E. Hoxsie argued that farmers should protect songbirds and encourage them to stay in North Dakota. He shared that he had a colony of eleven bluebirds so content in the birdhouses he provided that they stayed on his farm throughout the winter. He noted that their behavior changed in the winter compared to summer, especially in their feeding habits. They would fly out at dawn and return to their birdhouses in the evening, seemingly finding enough food to survive the cold months. In addition to the bluebirds, Hoxsie also had robins, orioles, waxwings, and ground sparrows.
Hoxsie believed his large apple harvest the previous fall was due to the presence of the birds. He said they consumed numerous gnats, flies, bugs, and worms. He encouraged every farmer to provide suitable birdhouses, claiming it would significantly improve their harvest yields. Modern research shows that birds have benefited a wide variety of crops, from Jamaican coffee beans to cranberry bogs, potatoes, and fruit orchards. George Hoxsie, indeed, was ahead of his time.
Dakota Datebook by Dr. Carole Butcher
Sources:
- State Line Herald. “Pays to Encourage Birds.” North Lemmon ND. 1/14/1911. Page 5.
- Audubon. “What Birds Do For Us.” https://www.audubon.org/news/what-do-birds-do-us Accessed 1/9/2025.
- Songbird Survival. “Why Do We Need Songbirds?” https://www.songbird-survival.org.uk/learn-and-discover/why-birds-matter Accessed 1/9/2024.