For the sixth consecutive year, the city of Stevens Point has been titled with the distinction of Bird City Wisconsin, the last five of which as the program’s highest ranking.

“We have won the Bird City Wisconsin and for five years in a row the ‘high flyer,’ which is the highest you can get,” said Kent Hall, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point emeritus professor of biology.

Hall pledged he will contribute $25,000 of his personal savings to the city to help protect and promote bird habitat in the area, and he is proud of the council’s dedication to being a Bird City.

“I must say, I’m very appreciative of the support of the (Stevens Point Common Council), and moving forward of this effort,” Hall said.

Of the many things required to hold a Bird City title, the city must hold an annual International Migratory Bird Day. So, the city designated May 7 as such a day.

Hall said a celebratory bird walk will be held at 8 a.m. Saturday, May 7, starting on the north end of Iverson Park.

“We’ll meet at the north-end parking lot of Iverson Park and we’ll tour Iverson for about an hour and a half. Then, we’ll go out to Lost Creek Wetlands, which is only about a 10-minute drive,” he said. “It’s a fantastic 350-acre area on the evergreen, and we have seen 222 species of birds there.”

Hall said the group will have the chance to see somewhere between 60 to 88 species of birds on the walk.

“Why celebrate Migratory Bird Day? Because migration is one of the most profound natural history phenomena known to human kind. It’s celebrated in dozens of countries around the world,” Hall said.

For example, the ruby-throated honeybird flies the length of the Yucatan Peninsula, about 900 miles, non-stop, he said.

“All the while, its heart beating at 1,200 beats a minute,” Hall said.

Hall said the bar-tailed godwit bird, one he is particularly proud to have checked off his “birds to see” bucket list, flies the greatest distance of all birds. Every year, it flies from the Alaska Peninsula to a river system in New Zealand.

“It flew nine consecutive days and for a total of 7,258 miles. They know that because they have a satellite. I hope this gives you some of the same excitement and concern I have for migrating birds,” Hall said.

Locally, the push for conservation and education about migratory birds has been led by the Aldo Leopold Audubon Society, the Stevens Point chapter of the National Audubon Society.

“(A recent study) by the National Audubon Society found that of the 588 North American species, 314 will lose more than 50 percent of their current migratory range by 2080 due to global warming in a nutshell,” Hall said.

Some may be able to adapt, but it’s predicted that among the birds at high risk are the bald eagle and the brown pelican, Hall said. The climate will be too warm in Wisconsin for them to nest.

“So, to give birds a future, we need to curb greenhouse gasses,” Hall said. “(Stevens Point Mayor Mike Wiza) knows how passionate I am about doing that. The council, over the years, has been given a path to a sustainable Stevens Point through the eco-municipality resolution.”

The eco-municipality resolution is an officially recognized framework of city practices and goals to reducing the city’s carbon footprint.

However, since it was accepted in 2008, little movement has been made to implement the doctrine in the city’s day-to-day operation.

“So, my challenge to you is something that has happened at the university that I take great pride in having been there for 30 years, they now have converted to 100 percent renewable energy on that campus and they set the goal for 2050 of becoming carbon-neutral,” he said. “I ask the council, I ask the mayor, I ask the department heads, ‘why not the city of Stevens Point?’ This would be the single-best thing you could do for birds in North America, birds in Portage County and birds in Stevens Point.

“I have committed $25,000 to making this happen, however that works. Maybe a sustainability coordinator or some kind of fund,” he said.

One of the benefits to becoming sustainable is that it saves money once implemented. Hall said the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point has saved more than $600,000 to date by implementing energy efficient systems on the campus.

“I hope we can continue this dialogue and make something like that happen here,” he said.