Birds are critical links in native ecosystems.
Wild birds pollinate plants, distribute seeds and eat enormous numbers of insects. According to the Ornithological Council, on average, a pair of adult warblers removes caterpillars from more than a million leaves in the two to three weeks from the time the pair's young hatch until they leave the nest. This behavior provides enormous benefits to forestry and agriculture. Birding is reportedly second only to gardening as the most rapidly growing leisure interest across North America. The number of bird-watchers in the U.S. and Canada grew 155 percent between 1983 and 1995.