Threats

National Audubon Society has identified 152 highly vulnerable species in the Central Flyway. 

According to a Cornell Lab of Ornithology study published in 2019, North America has lost 1 in 4 birds over the last 50 years. Grasslands in particular posted the biggest losses, with more than 720 million breeding individuals lost across 31 species since 1970, a 40 percent decline. Two-thirds of North American birds are at increasing risk of extinction from global temperature rise. 

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. Healthy habitats that support birds throughout their life cycles are critical to survival. Without the conditions they need to survive and raise their young, even the most common birds, like Meadowlarks, face the risk of being threatened, endangered, or even extinction.

Vulnerable Birds

How you can help, right now