I have been asked countless times why so many Hawaiian birds have gone extinct in recent decades. My response is always the same: What we did to prevent extinction was always … always … too little, too late.… Read more >>

While birds may appear to be in nearly endless supply — we see them every day, right? — recent studies point to an unsettling truth: Avian populations are declining. In just the last 50 years, nearly a third of all U.S. and Canadian birds have disappeared. As it stands, one out of every eight bird species in the world faces extinction.… Read more >>

Bird populations are declining around the world. And while many factors contribute — from habitat loss to pesticides, outdoor cats, and window collisions — it is increasingly clear that climate change is an important driver behind this worrying trend. Climate patterns have shifted throughout Earth’s long history, but the speed… Read more >>

Latin America and the Caribbean contain about half of the world’s biodiversity, including over 4,000 bird species. Unfortunately, the rich flora and fauna of the region is at risk from threats such as habitat loss and climate change, which are fueling population declines in a significant number of bird species.… Read more >>

U.S. grasslands that once resounded with the boisterous song of the Western Meadowlark are growing silent as numbers of the famed singer decline. This situation, distressing as it is, isn’t unique: A number of state birds have experienced major population losses over the last 50 years, challenging assumptions that these… Read more >>

Climate change is bad news for birds. Impacts like higher temperatures, rising sea levels, extreme weather, habitat loss, and disease spread are already having an effect on hundreds of avian species. Because the challenge can seem daunting, we at American Bird Conservancy (ABC) propose that one of the best things… Read more >>

Lay of the Land: The B.J. Bishop Wetlands are a surprise to find in the arid landscape of Texas’s Big Bend. This desert oasis adjacent to the Rio Grande includes 11 acres of wetland fed with treated wastewater from nearby Presidio, Texas, and 3 acres for a riparian tree nursery.… Read more >>

Many birds nest only in this treeless biome. As the planet warms, what is at stake and how might they fare? Beyond where stunted conifers surrender to bitter winds and frozen soil lies a region of extremes. There, tiny, hardy plants blanket the terrain for thousands of miles, and a… Read more >>

The Red Lake Band of Chippewa has been one of ABC’s most essential and stalwart partners since I began working to restore declining birds in young, regenerating — a.k.a. early successional — forest and brushland habitat in 2013. It is a primary goal of the Red Lake Band to protect… Read more >>

Around the Great Lakes, momentum grows to restore and enhance landscapes, brightening the future for birds and people. You may have read that nearly 3 billion birds have been lost since 1970. And you probably know that two culprits suspected in this widespread decline are habitat loss and fragmentation. Half… Read more >>