Using the best available migration science to protect birds and the places they need across their full annual life cycles.
The mission of the Migratory Bird Initiative is to secure the future of migratory birds in the Western Hemisphere by reducing direct threats and protecting key places across the Americas in coordination with science, conservation and policy partners.
The Initiative brings together the latest spatial information on species distributions and movements across their annual cycles to identify priority areas for 520 species of migratory birds. We will use this information to define where and how to focus Audubon’s conservation investments in order to protect, restore and manage key habitat and also mitigate threats along full migratory pathways for these species.
Audubon expects to achieve these goals by 1) consolidating and elevating the best-available migration science, filling research gaps and identifying real time threats throughout annual cycle; 2) strengthening connections and cooperation among key stakeholders such as government agencies, nonprofit organizations, academic institutions and the Audubon network, and 3) informing policy advocacy at the local, state and federal level to drive science-based conservation.
Migratory birds face threats during all stages of the annual cycle, and these threats are accelerating. Fortunately, scientific data, particularly during migration, are accumulating; however, we need to act swiftly and collectively to protect birds and the places they need before the opportunities to do so disappear. Partnerships will be central to the success of the Migratory Bird Initiative, and Audubon looks forward to building and strengthening relationships with other key research and conservation organizations.
If you are a researcher and would like to contribute data to Audubon's Migratory Bird Initiative, please fill out this Data Sharing Agreement. If you would like to contact us for more information, please email migratorybirds@audubon.org.
For a GIS and data analyst for Audubon’s Migratory Bird Initiative and Science team, placing yourself in context with your surroundings is what makes mapping so powerful.
To power perilous journeys, birds undergo extreme feats like doubling their body weight and rearranging or even consuming their internal organs.
Using tiny tracking devices, researcher Chris Tonra and the Prothonotary Warbler Working Group are informing key conservation efforts.
Amy Scarpignato’s extensive career as a field technician became her biggest asset in the race to protect migratory birds.
The irregular irruptions of winter finches inspire both delight and bewilderment among migration scientists.
California’s Central Valley and the Colorado River Delta are critical stopover sites for dozens of migrant species, according to new research.
New study details how California’s Central Valley and the Colorado River Delta in Mexico provide food and shelter for globally significant numbers of migratory birds.
Purple Martins exposed to bright nighttime light migrated eight days early—which could lead to starvation at their breeding grounds.
To learn where the beloved Rockefeller Center Christmas tree owl will go for the winter, Audubon's Migratory Bird Initiative spoke to owl researcher Sean Beckett.
Its intertidal mudflats crowded with migratory shorebirds each year, this California bay is threatened by the aquaculture industry.
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