Tropical Loss

Our songbirds need forests. But which forest?  In eastern North America, the amount of forest cover has increased over the past decades as farms have been abandoned and allowed to regenerate into forest.  If our forest birds have more, not less, breeding habitat then why have their populations been going down? In the tropics, it’s a different story altogether – logging of tropical forests is currently taking place at the highest rate since the Europeans first colonized the “New World” in the 1600s.

Our migrants are especially vulnerable to tropical deforestation because most species have a tiny wintering range, compared to their breeding range. The entire breeding population of a species has to cram into a much smaller area to find food & survive the over-wintering season – heavy deforestation in one tropical country or region can affect the entire species. As the dramatic loss of tropical forest continues, the importance of traditionally grown coffee becomes critical. Scientific evidence proves that these farms are nearly as good at providing critical habitat as forests. Yet, sadly, this centuries old form of sustainable agriculture is under threat too – by big agriculture’s sun coffee plantations. By buying certified ‘Bird Friendly® coffee we can help arrest this sorry trend.

Birds & Beans® is the only coffee brand in the entire country which solely roasts ‘Bird Friendly®’ certified beans. We roast and sell Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center certified coffee. Three of our roasts are Fair-Trade, the fourth is Rainforest Alliance and all four are USDA Organic certified. Great for birds, people, the Earth. Great tasting coffee too.

The hillside in this image is quite steep. The forest cover provided by the shade coffee system upslope from the road greatly aids in soil protection. The sun coffee farm downslope from the road exposes the fragile mountain soil to wind and rain erosion. (Cited SMBC)