We can’t imagine a world with fewer birds, and we are not alone. Read why birds matter to some of our fellow North Carolinians and visit our Climate Facebook page to tell us why birds matter to you.

Jim Guyton, Mecklenburg Audubon: My favorite bird memories include hiking in -25 degrees and having a Northern Goshawk fly by. I also love watching out my sunroom window and having four different warbler species drop in one by one in a span of 15 minutes.

Lucas Bobay, Student at NC State University: By chasing down rarities or growing my county lists, birds have brought me to the furthest reaches of the state that I would have never visited otherwise. I love the sense of adventure, the sense of discovery that I get every time. I think I've really rubbed off on others, and I like to think that my love of birds is just a little infectious.  

John Ann Shearer, US Fish & Wildlife Service: Birds of all sorts have meaning to me - they are inspiring and spiritually meaningful. They embody the miracle of nature and provide me with hope. Each one so different from the other.

Curtis Smalling, Audubon NC Director of Land Bird Conservation: Birds give me hope. Their annual returns and will to survive are amazing. I lost my first child to cancer when he was four years old, and birds annually remind me that you keep trying, keep going. Life pulls you forward, even when you don’t want to go.

Jan Fowler, Retired Bird Lover: My favorite memory was seeing and documenting the first Mecklenburg County Baltimore Oriole breeding pair feeding their fledgling on the ground. Being in nature with birds and wildlife gives me a feeling of contentment and peace.

Josie Brand, Young Bird Lover: Birds matter to me because they are so interesting. I could watch a bird all day, follow it around, and I would never get bored. They also make my mom so happy, and I love it when she suddenly exclaims about a bird she saw.