AUDUBON REPORT ON
COMMON BIRDS IN DECLINEECHOED WORLDWIDE
Audubon’s IBAs in New Mexico Offset Growing Threats
New York and Santa Fe-- A new international report
entitled State of the World’s Birds reveals precipitous
declines in populations of many of the world’s most familiar
birds, broadening the alarm first sounded in the U.S. by
Audubon’s 2007 Common Birds in Decline analysis.
All the world’s governments have committed themselves to slowing or
halting the loss of biodiversity by 2010,” says the new BirdLife
International report launched today at organization’s World
Conference in Buenos Aires; “Reluctance to commit what are often
trivial sums in terms of national budgets means that this target
is almost certain to be missed.
The BirdLife report highlights avian losses worldwide. Citing the
2007 Audubon report, BirdLife’s State of the World’s Birds report
states that populations of “Twenty North American common birds
have more than halved in number in the last four decades.” The
Northern Bobwhite fell most dramatically, by 82%.
As documented in
Audubon’s first State of the Birds report in 2004 and reinforced
in this report, “Some of North America’s fastest declining birds
are grassland species whose habitat has been damaged by
agricultural expansion and intensification.”
“Direct habitat loss continues to be a leading cause for
concern at home and abroad,” emphasized Audubon Bird
Conservation Director, Dr. Greg Butcher, speaking from
Buenos Aires, the site of the BirdLife conference. “As we found in 2007, this
report points out the increasing impact of large-scale
environmental problems such as global warming, along with the
continuing toll from weak conservation policies at home.
“Birds are such important environmental indicators and reminders
to look out for our own well being. In New Mexico, Audubon is
working with state agencies on conservation initiatives and
funding including establishing wildlife corridors and
implementing river restoration projects to mitigate these
threats on the ground,” said Karyn Stockdale, Director of
Audubon in New Mexico.
More than half of the bird species that breed North America
and winter in the Neotropics show declining populations over the
past 40 years. “This demonstrates the importance of working
throughout the Western Hemisphere for bird conservation,”
said Craig Lee, director of the Audubon International
Alliance Program. “This sobering report must remind us that
Americans can still play a vital role in protecting migratory
birds.” Audubon’s International Alliances Program was founded in 2006 for just
that purpose. “If we hope to continuing sharing our North
American communities with familiar avian visitors, we must
ensure that birds find food, safety and shelter in all of their
seasonal homes south of the border, and in the places in
between.”
Audubon protects those “place in between,” including many
wetlands and grasslands on the major flyways, by working with
BirdLife to designate and protect Important Bird Areas. The
global effort identifies and conserves areas vital to birds and
other biodiversity. Here in the U.S. Audubon works with its
extensive local Chapter network: landowners, public agencies,
community groups, and other non-profits to advance the sound
management of Important Bird Areas. Audubon Chapters and state offices
are extend these localized efforts through alliances with other
non-governmental organizations that enable Americans to help
protect habitat along the entire migratory routes of familiar
species.
Population data for both the new Birdlife Report and Audubon’s
Common Birds in Decline included vital “citizen science”
findings from Audubon's century-old Christmas Bird Count program. The involvement of ordinary
people in identifying the problem spurs many to become part of
the solution. The 2007 report galvanized local conservation
efforts and national policy efforts.
"Fortunately, people's actions can still make a difference,"
adds Dr. Butcher. "Average citizens can change the fate of these
birds just as average citizens helped us confirm the trouble
they face. People may not experience all the signs this
international report in this country, but the birds whose sights
and sounds are growing less familiar at home are a reminder that
conservation is an urgent need wherever we live. The BirdlLife
report is a warning we all need to heed.”
Audubon New Mexico has 62 Important Bird Areas across the
state with critical bird areas in almost every county. New
Mexico’s IBAs cover the four main eco-regions of the southern
Rocky Mountains in the north, the Chihuahuan Desert in the
south, the short-grass prairie in the east, the Sierra Madre in
the west, and these sites include wetlands, grasslands, forests,
semiarid scrublands, and riparian areas. Important Bird Areas
are sites which provide essential breeding, migrating or
wintering habitat for one or more species of bird. They are
generally discrete sites that support one or more high-priority
species, large concentrations of birds, exceptional habitat,
and/or have substantial research value. Our Audubon members who
are citizen scientists can adopt IBA sites to monitor and assess
habitat conditions.
Audubon List of Top 20 Common Birds in Decline
The following are the 20 common North American
birds with the greatest population declines since 1967.
| Rank |
Species |
Decline |
| 1 |
Northern Bobwhite |
82% |
| 2 |
Evening Grosbeak |
78% |
| 3 |
Northern Pintail |
77% |
| 4 |
Greater Scaup |
75% |
| 5 |
Boreal Chickadee |
73% |
| 6 |
Eastern Meadowlark |
72% |
| 7 |
Common Tern |
71% |
| 8 |
Loggerhead Shrike |
71% |
| 9 |
Field Sparrow |
68% |
| 10 |
Grasshopper Sparrow |
65% |
| 11 |
Snow Bunting |
64% |
| 12 |
Black-throated Sparrow |
63% |
| 13 |
Lark Sparrow |
63% |
| 14 |
Common Grackle |
61% |
| 15 |
American Bittern |
59% |
| 16 |
Rufous Hummingbird |
58% |
| 17 |
Whip-poor-will |
57% |
| 18 |
Horned Lark |
56% |
| 19 |
Little Blue Heron |
54% |
| 20 |
Ruffed Grouse |
54% |
9/28/08