I'm sure you've probably enjoyed eating chicken, turkey and eggs. You might have even tasted duck, pheasant or grouse. Bird study is important because they're are lots of things still to be discovered about them. The Gunnison Sage Grouse, found in Colorado, is that bird. Birders like yourself have helped scientists by banding birds and recording populations in surveys, Christmas Bird Counts and through such programs as Project Feederwatch, sponsored by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology.
Birds are an important indicator of environmental quality.
Because birds can fly, they are the most mobile of creatures. As a result, they're often the first to leave a polluted area and the first to return when it's clean. We then can use birds to tell us about environmental problems.