How Climate Change Will Affect Birds in Tennessee
Vulnerable Birds in Tennessee
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.
Tennessee
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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.
How will the Eastern Kingbird's range be affected in Tennessee?
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 conditions 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 Tennessee less vulnerable.
In order to hold warming steady, we must act now to reduce the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere and limit warming to 1.5 degrees. We must reduce our carbon emissions and also absorb what is produced through natural solutions like reforestation or with technology that removes carbon from the air.
Click the three different warming scenarios to explore how increased warming puts more species in Tennessee at risk.
Tennessee's Birds and Habitats
On Tennessee’s eastern border, the mature hardwood forests and rushing mountain streams of Great Smoky Mountains National Park support hundreds of bird species, including Indigo Buntings and Wood Thrushes at low elevations, and Red-breasted Nuthatches and Golden-crowned Kinglets at high elevations. The Cumberland Mountains are home to globally significant populations of Golden-winged and Cerulean warblers and dozens of other interior forest species. In spring, Nashville’s Radnor Lakes and Knoxville’s Sharps Ridge fill with migrating neotropical songbirds—flycatchers, vireos, thrushes, warblers, and tanagers.
Climate Policy in Tennessee
RENEWABLE
1.2 % Biomass
10.9 % Hydro
.1 % Solar
NUCLEAR
FOSSIL FUEL
34.8 % Coal
.2 % Petroleum
Climate Alliance?
(Data: U.S. EIA)
In 2019, Tennessee Valley Authority announced plans to retire several coal plants, saving customers $1 billion. The authority aims to replace them with up to 14 gigawatts of solar generation, two to 17 gigawatts of natural gas, and up to five gigawatts of battery storage.
Climate Threats Facing Birds and People in Tennessee
Droughts reduce crop yields, threaten navigation and hydroelectric power, and increase demand for water in the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers. Increased precipitation and more-frequent flooding threaten critical infrastructure and homes.
The same climate change-driven threats that put birds at risk harm people, too. Hover over or tap an area on the map to see specific threats that will affect that area as warming increases.