The 2025 State of the Birds Report showed that birds were continuing to struggle—including some that have been resilient in the past. The latest report shows that birds across most habitats have suffered major losses since 1970. Grassland and arid land species have been dealt the heaviest blow: Both groups lost more than 40 percent of their total populations over that period.
The trends for many habitat groups have gotten worse. Even waterfowl, which had previously been a conservation bright spot amid the alarming declines, have seen their numbers drop since the last edition of the report in 2019. Overall, around one-third of U.S. birds, or 229 species, are of high or moderate conservation concern, according to the report—dealing with low population levels, declining trends, or other threats that call for conservation action to step up.
The State of the Birds report, which has been published since 2009, pulls together data from a range of bird monitoring programs to understand how birds are faring across different ecosystems. Those data sources include the U.S. Geological Survey’s Breeding Bird Survey, Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count, and, as of this year, eBird Trends maps. Much of this monitoring is built on the efforts of community scientists, who are the “eyes on the ground” to show when bird populations are changing
This year’s installment signals that despite the renewed attention to conservation after the 2019 study—a wake-up call that found North America has lost around a quarter of its avian population since 1970—the trajectory for birds has not turned around. We’re showing that even five-plus years later, America continues to lose birds and we are seeing the same sort of patterns.
For one, grassland birds have remained in dire straits as their habitat has disappeared, often converted for agriculture. Despite efforts to preserve or restore prairie habitat, such as Audubon’s partnerships with ranchers to promote bird-friendly grazing practices, the Great Plains region is losing 1 to 2 million acres of grasslands each year
Meanwhile, long-suffering shorebirds have also continued to see declines, facing threats from rising and warming seas on top of coastal habitat losses across their expansive ranges. Out of all the habitat groups, shorebirds have the highest number of “tipping point” species identified in the report—those that have lost more than half their populations in the past 50 years.
Waterfowl species had long been touted as a conservation success story, and their populations are still up 24 percent since 1970, largely due to expanded protections for wetlands. Yet since around 2017, that upward trajectory has seen a dip, and dabbling and diving duck populations are now 10 percent below their long-term average. That short-term decline is likely due in large part to drought in the Prairie Pothole Region, an area of the northern Plains that is crucial for breeding ducks. There’s hope that ducks will get back on track when these weather cycles shift again, but the reversal is a sign that environmental groups can’t get complacent
More than a third of waterbird species are declining. Secretive marsh birds such as rails are affected by the loss of vegetated wetlands. Bipartisan support for a “no-net-loss” of wetlands federal policy has been strong since it was first announced by President Bush in 1989. Yet the latest U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Wetlands Status and Trends report shows that the annual rate of wetlands loss increased by more than 50% over past decades, with a staggering 670,000 acres of net loss among the vegetated wetlands that are crucial to the nation’s ecological health. The main drivers of wetlands loss include drainage and filling for agriculture, development, and silvicultural operations. Rebuilding America’s wetland complexes begins with defending the wetlands policy protections that remain. In particular, the Swampbuster provision of the Farm Bill has been vital to retaining wetlands and supporting populations of waterfowl, waterbirds, and shorebirds in agricultural landscapes. The long-term resiliency of duck populations and other wetland birds absolutely depends on keeping a strong base of wetlands intact.
The continuing challenges for bird populations are also a warning sign for deeper environmental threats. If these habitats are struggling to support bird species, it’s a sign that they’re not healthy for other wildlife, or even humans—but working to restore them will have benefits across ecosystems. “It’s not a matter of: Which do we choose to help, birds or people? but How do we best serve both?”
Coastal restoration and conservation ranching to forest renewal and seabird translocations—show how proactive, concerted efforts and strategic investments can recover bird populations. The science is solid on how to bring birds back. Private lands conservation programs, and voluntary conservation partnerships for working lands, hold some of the best opportunities for sparking immediate turnarounds for birds.
Policies to reverse bird declines carry added benefits such as healthier working lands, cleaner water, and resilient landscapes that can withstand fires, floods, and drought. Plus birds are broadly popular—about 100 million Americans are birdwatchers, including large shares of hunters and anglers. All that birding activity stimulates the economy, with $279 billion in total annual economic output generated by birder expenditures.
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