The reduction in the number of trees at Hempstead Lake will have an adverse impact on local birds. This is due to "edge effects." where bird species fare best when they are far from the edges of habitat patches. When a habitat patch is reduced in size, the edge areas of the patch increase in a non-linear fashion. For example, a reduction in a habitat patch's area by 50% generally causes a reduction in bird species by much more than 50%.This is because birds living on the edges of a habitat patch are more vulnerable to predators and other forces destructive to bird populations. This has been confirmed by, among others, Andren, H. & Angelstam, P., in their 1988 study entitled "Elevated predation rates are a confirmed edge effect in habitat islands," published in 69:544-547, and by Stephens, S.E., Koons, D.N., Rotella, J.J., Willey, D.W., in their 2004 article entitled “Effects of habitat fragmentation on avian nesting success: A review of the evidence at multiple spatial scales," published in 115:101-110 (2004). Loss of such a great number of trees at Hempstead Lake State Park would exacerbate the loss of Eastern forest bird species. Of great concern is the evidence that almost all classes of North American birds have been declining over that last 30 years.