Marine and coastal birds are in steep decline due to climate change, development, overfishing, and pollution and the numbers are stark. Globally, seabird populations have decreased by 70 percent since 1950 and in North American alone, shorebird populations have decreased by 70 percent since 1973. Audubon’s coastal program is working to reverse this crisis in four ways:

Coastal Resilience: Rebuilding and strengthening coastlines to restore bird habitat and protect communities from the effects of climate change by promoting nature-based policies and projects, or “natural infrastructure,” which create undisturbed habitat for birds and other wildlife, save taxpayer dollars, and safeguard communities from storms.

Gulf Restoration: Engaging communities to ensure a healthy and vibrant future for the birds, other wildlife, and Gulf communities in the aftermath and rebuiding period after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster.

Marine Conservation: Defending and supporting policies that protect seabird prey and working to restore, protect, and create new seabird sanctuaries and marine protected areas.

Coastal Stewardship: Recruiting leaders and volunteers who are dedicated to reducing the threats posed to beach-nesting birds through advocacy, education, and on-the-ground conservation.

News from the Coasts

Coasts

Infrastructure Can and Should Be Clean and Sustainable

By Sarah Greenberger

Natural infrastructure is the cleanest, cheapest way to protect birds and people from some of the harmful effects of the changing climate.

Audubon In Action

One Person’s Leftovers Are Another Person’s Treasure

By National Audubon Society

Extra sand is an outcome of all dredging projects, and Audubon wants to use it to rebuild a vital nesting island in South Carolina.

Science

Where Do Maine's Atlantic Puffins Go for the Winter?

By Emma Bryce

Audubon scientists tracked breeding puffins from Maine to finally learn where they pass the colder months—in a maze of underwater canyons and mountains southeast of Massachusetts.

Our Goals

Address and reverse the drastic global decline of marine and coastal birds

Forge a national community of advocates based on person-to-person relationships, shared values, and commitment to the protection of birds

Defend and advance policies that protect marine and coastal birds, their prey, and habitat

Threats to Marine and Coastal Birds

Climate Change

Climate change has many impacts to marine and coastal bird health. Forage fish, the main source of prey for seabirds and some shorebirds, are affected by warming ocean waters. Warming ocean waters cause oxygen and phytoplankton declines, which then negatively affects forage fish populations. And sea-level rise can destroy critical coastal habitats. From 1990-2016, sea levels have risen by up to8.3 inches. And scientists predict that by 2100, sea levels will rise anywhere from 1 – 8 feet. Sea level rise will cause flooding that can destroy habitat birds need for nesting, feeding, and more. Birds that reside in coastal areas are at risk because they have shown no adaptation strategy to flooding.

Pollution

Marine and coastal birds are threatened by oil spills, plastic pollution, and poor air and water quality.

Development

Available habitat is a requirement for migratory and nesting shore and seabirds. From mudflats to open beach and more, seabirds need healthy and undisturbed habitats to complete their lifecycle. With populations increasing in coastal areas, coastal development rates are also increasing. Development activities include filling in wetlands and/or building on existing habitats to develop urban, industry, and agriculture. Scientists predict that one fourth of all U.S. coastal lands will be developed by 2025.

Overfishing

Seabirds, marine mammals, and other marine wildlife prey on forage fish that are also fished for commercial purposes and churned into vitamins, cosmetics, fertilizer, feed for livestock, and more. When forage fish populations drop below one-third of their maximum size, seabird reproduction declines.

Where We Work

Our Work Along America's Coasts

Press Room

Congress Approves Critical Water Projects: Natural Infrastructure and Everglades

Bill Provides Important Wins for Birds, People and Ecosystems Nationwide. “More cement isn’t the answer.”

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Conservation

Scenes From the Texas Coast, Where Nesting Birds Abound

Eight years after the BP oil spill, the bird-rich islands and shores of Texas's Galveston Bay are a testament to nature's ability to recover—with our help.

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Conservation

Inside the Biomedical Revolution to Save Horseshoe Crabs and the Shorebirds That Need Them

It took a dedicated birder to convince pharma giant Eli Lilly to use a synthetic compound instead of horseshoe crab blood in a mandatory medical test. Now, he hopes the rest of industry will follow.

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