Vulnerable Birds in District of Columbia County

Highly and moderately vulnerable birds may lose more than half of their current range—the geographic area where they live—as they are forced to search for suitable habitat and climate conditions elsewhere.

Below, find out which of the birds that nest or spend the winter in your area are most vulnerable across their entire range. Some birds may lose range outside of your state, making the protection of their current habitat in your area even more important.

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How Will the Wood Thrush's Range Be Affected in District of Columbia County?

Rising temperatures and shifting weather patterns affect birds’ ability to find food and reproduce, which over time impacts local populations, and ultimately continent-wide populations, too. Some species may even go extinct in your state if they cannot find the resources they need to survive and raise their young.

Select a warming scenario to see how this species’ range will change under increased global temperatures.

Reducing warming makes many types of birds found in District of Columbia County less vulnerable.

Without immediate, urgent action to reduce carbon emissions, global temperatures could rise by 3.0°C in the coming decades, endangering birds in your area. The threat is drastically reduced if we curb greenhouse gases and we limit warming to 1.5°C, giving the same birds a chance to not only survive but thrive.

Click the three different warming scenarios to explore how increased warming puts more species in District of Columbia county at risk.

Washington D.C.'s Birds and Habitats

Theodore Roosevelt Island’s 88 acres of wooded uplands and swampy bottomlands, including estuarine habitats, are visited by Baltimore Orioles, Scarlet Tanagers, and migrating warblers. Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens contain meadows that host open-country birds, including Bobolinks, along with American Woodcock in the early spring, and migrating shorebirds in late summer. Migrating songbirds, including a few dozen warbler species, pause to rest at Rock Creek Park and the National Arboretum in spring and fall. Visit Hains Point and the Tidal Basin to see wintering waterfowl and gulls.


Climate Policy in Washington D.C.

Electricity Generation Breakdown
5.1%
RENEWABLE
3.1 % Wind
.3 % Biomass
1.4 % Hydro
.3 % Solar
94.1%
FOSSIL FUEL
28.7 % Natural Gas
35.3 % Coal
.3 % Petroleum
.8%
OTHER
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Targets
50%
BELOW 2006
levels by 2032
80%
BELOW 2006
levels by 2050
Renewable Portfolio Standard
100%
BY 2032
Member of the US
Climate Alliance?
Yes

The Clean Energy DC Omnibus Act, signed into law in 2019, set the nation’s most ambitious renewable energy target: 100 percent renewable power by 2032. The district’s climate action plan lays out how to reduce emissions in the buildings and transportation sector, as well as in energy infrastructure, to meet its greenhouse-gas emissions targets.

Climate Threats Facing Birds and People in District of Columbia County

Washington, D.C. temperatures have risen by more than 2 degrees Fahrenheit in the last century, and the resulting severe heat waves pose threats to public health, especially vulnerable people such as children, the sick, the elderly, and the poor. Increased precipitation is likely to increase flooding, threatening in particular the low-lying Federal Triangle neighborhood and river-adjacent neighborhoods, and could overwhelm storm-water infrastructure. Water levels in the Potomac and Anacostia rivers have rising six or seven inches in the last 50 years, already causing more regular flooding around the Tidal Basin and threatening wetland habitat for birds.


Choose a temperature scenario below to see which threats will affect this species as warming increases. The same climate change-driven threats that put birds at risk will affect other wildlife and people, too.