As many Pen Bay Pilot readers no doubt know, most of the continental United States has been slammed with extreme weather in recent days. Two hundred million people have been under extreme-weather warnings in a storm spanning fully 2,000 miles in width, and with temperatures plummeting as much as 40 degrees in as little as 30 minutes.

This extreme weather is lethal not only to humans, but to animals as well — particularly birds. And this comes amid massive loss of bird populations in North America totaling some 500 million in recent years and decades.

As some readers have perhaps noticed, some bird species have however been lingering longer into the fall and even winter, and this is because of overall, general warming. But this means some bird species are even less prepared for extreme weather events such as this most recent one.

But there is something you can do to help. According to a recent Guardian article, Brooke Bateman, director of Climate Science with the National Audubon Society, "encouraged those concerned to create bird-friendly communities with feeders and native plants that can help provide key sources of sustenance."

So get out there and feed your local birds! With their beauty, their beautiful song, and their amusing frolicking and social antics, you'll be glad you did. And if you're unable to do this at home, you can donate to the Tall Pines Community in Belfast (930-7130), which will construct and supply bird feeders outside the windows of its senior-citizen residents, thus spreading joy to your neighbors. It's a win-win.

Lawrence Reichard lives in Belfast