Photo: Eastern Meadowlark, Sheri Douse/Audubon Photography Awards
It’s difficult to be optimistic about the future of North American birds in the face of a relentless avalanche of news about national policy changes that can challenge conservation efforts:
Massive cuts in staffing for national parks, refuges, and forests
A proposed budget with unprecedented spending cuts to agencies in charge of managing public lands and to other environmental and conservation programs
Endangered Species Act proposed rule changes that mean only an intentional take of an endangered bird (rather than an incidental or indirect harm through habitat loss) would be illegal, a change already in place for the Migratory Bird Treaty Act through guidance
Promotion of fossil fuel energy production and withdrawal of funds for clean energy projects, potentially exacerbating climate change
Recent studies also provide challenging news. The State of the Birds 2025 confirms that North American birds continue to decline, and a new trend in decline in duck populations dims a bright spot in earlier reports. And a May 2025 article in Science (Johnston et al., Vol. 388, Issue 6747, pp. 532-537) reports that declines in North American bird populations are greatest where species are most abundant.
On the hopeful side of the ledger, it’s clear that we have more, and more focused, information on bird populations that can direct conservation efforts. Recall that a little over 2.5 years ago we highlighted the Bird Migration Explorer, a joint project of multiple organizations that mapped migration patterns of more than 450 species using data from eBird at the Cornell Lab, BirdLife International, and National Audubon, making clear the need for healthy habitat across continents. And the latest report on North American birds documents changes in abundance of 495 species breeding in North and Central America and the Caribbean based on 14 years of eBird data. In other words, Cornell’s large citizen science initiative continues to produce results.
Although the study’s conclusions are grim in many respects, the writers offer some positive conclusions. The detailed range information provided by eBird can (i) detect localized declines that may not be evident from broader studies; (ii) help identify causes of declines, and (iii) inform management, which is typically implemented in local landscapes. In addition, although 75% of species were declining, with significant declines for 65%, 97% of species showed separate areas of significantly increasing and decreasing populations, possibly highlighting areas for focused conservation efforts.
Of course, we all have a lot of work to do to respond to political challenges, climate change, and habitat loss from land use changes. As the study makes clear, many of those challenges must be addressed at the local level. So, let’s all continue to talk to our elected representatives at the national, state and local levels, protect and enhance healthy habitat for wildlife, and participate in citizen science.