These US bird species face a ‘tipping point’ as populations decline sharply, new report finds

(NEXSTAR) – Amid a nationwide outbreak of avian flu, birds have had a hard year. But according to a report released Wednesday, many bird species have had a hard half-century, with the future not looking much brighter.

More than half of the bird species in the U.S. are declining, according to the State of Birds report, which was put together by more than 30 government agencies, private organizations, and bird initiatives led by the North American Bird Conservation Initiative.

This follows a worldwide trend identified by BirdLife International earlier this year, which wrote in its State of the World’s Birds report that nearly half of the bird species on Earth are in decline. Humans are overwhelmingly to blame, the report said.

In the U.S., researchers have identified 90 species that have lost half of their population since 1970. This includes red-headed woodpeckers, snowy owls and four different warblers.

Researchers noted 70 of those 90 species are now at a “tipping point,” meaning they are on track to lose another 50% of their population over the next 50 years if current conditions continue. Some of the hardest hit species include grassland birds, shorebirds and sea ducks:

Allen’s Hummingbird	Black Scoter	Greater Sage-Grouse	Lesser Prairie-Chicken	Scripps’s Murrelet
American Golden-Plover	Bobolink	Guadalupe Murrelet	Lesser Yellowlegs	Seaside Sparrow
Ashy Storm-Petrel	Bristle-thighed Curlew	Harris’s Sparrow	Mottled Duck	Semipalmated Sandpiper
Audubon’s Shearwater	Brown-capped Rosy-Finch	Heermann’s Gull	Mountain Plover	Short-billed Dowitcher
Bachman’s Sparrow	Buff-breasted Sandpiper	Henslow’s Sparrow	Murphy’s Petrel	Sprague’s Pipit
Band-rumped Storm-Petrel	Cassia Crossbill	Hudsonian Godwit	Parkinson’s Petrel	Stilt Sandpiper
Bendire’s Thrasher	Chestnut-collared Longspur	Ivory Gull	Pectoral Sandpiper	Townsend’s Storm-Petrel
Bicknell’s Thrush	Chimney Swift	King Eider	Pinyon Jay	Tricolored Blackbird
Black-capped Petrel	Craveri’s Murrelet	King Rail	Prairie Warbler	Wandering Tattler
Black-chinned Sparrow	Elegant Tern	Kittlitz’s Murrelet	Red-faced Cormorant	Whimbrel
Black-footed Albatross	Evening Grosbeak	Laysan Albatross	Red-legged Kittiwake	Whiskered Auklet
Black-vented Shearwater	Fea’s Petrel	Least Tern	Ruddy Turnstone	Yellow-billed Loon
Black Rail	Golden-winged Warbler	LeConte’s Sparrow	Rufous Hummingbird	Yellow-billed Magpie
Black Rosy-Finch	Great Black-backed Gull	LeConte’s Thrasher	Saltmarsh Sparrow	Yellow Rail

While not listed as threatened or endangered by federal authorities, all of the above birds have been added to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Birds of Conservation Concern List and/or state lists of species in need of conservation.

“The rapid declines in birds signal the intensifying stresses that wildlife and people alike are experiencing around the world because of habitat loss, environmental degradation and extreme climate events,” said Dr. Amanda Rodewald, director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Center for Avian Population Studies, in a press relesae. “Taking action to bring birds back delivers a cascade of benefits that improve climate resilience and quality of life for people.”

Though many species are on the decline, there is one group that is on the rise: wetland birds. This includes waterbirds, dabbling and diving ducks, and, overwhelmingly, geese and swans, which have seen a 1,076% increase in their population since 1970.

The success of these waterbirds offer insight on how people can help other species reverse course. Dr. Karen Waldrop, chief conservation officer for Ducks Unlimited, explained that collaboration between different groups of people — “hunters, landowners, state and federal agencies, and corporations” — has helped to keep these birds around.

Conservation of shorebirds and grassland birds needs to improve, the report explains. Researchers suggest using methods that proved effective in saving waterbirds, like investing in public-private partnerships, using technology to identify what is causing population declines, and working with international partners.

The report notes that birds “are highly responsive to conservation efforts” and crucial to protecting other species, like butterflies, bats, and many plants.

Helping bird populations isn’t limited to national efforts, either. There are actions you can take at home to prevent bird deaths as well.

Speaking with a Massachusetts public radio station, Ken Rosenberg, an author on the recent study and retired scientist from Cornell University, pointed to two main causes of bird deaths: glass windows and outdoor cats.

Keeping cats indoors and installing small features to your windows can combat those deaths, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology explains. They offer five other ways you can help birds in and around your home.

“Everyone can make a difference to help turn declines around,” said Mike Parr, president of the American Bird Conservancy.