One-Quarter of All U.S. Bird Species at Risk

Their report WatchList 2007 is an analysis of population size and trends, distribution, and threats for the 683 bird species that regularly breed in the United States.

It shows that 178 species across the continental United States as well as 39 birds in Hawaii are increasingly rare and face more threats to their survival than ever before.

WatchList 2007 data show that these birds are vulnerable to many of the same environmental threats - global warming, habitat loss to development, pollution, and non-native invasive species.

"We complied this list because we care about birds and we care about the environment we share with them," Audubon President John Flicker told reporters on a conference call today.

An increasingly rare black-capped vireo (Photo courtesy Texas Parks and Wildlife)

"These imperiled birds are sending us a clear message. Their fate is determined by human activity more than anything else," said Flicker. "The data makes it clear that when we help these birds through conservation, they do better, they improve. And when we hurt their land, water air and habitat, they're more likely to go extinct."

WatchList 2007 is distinct from the report on common birds in decline Audubon issued in June. Those beloved species are declining in numbers but are not yet in danger of extinction, Flicker said.

"For the WatchList birds, the clock is ticking," Flicker said. "Many of them will not survive unless we act to save them."

Every tool from private action to the federal Endangered Species List is needed to save these species, Flicker said.

WatchList 2007 incorporates data from the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count and the annual Breeding Bird Survey, a cooperative effort between the U.S. Geological Survey's Patuxent Wildlife Research Center and the Canadian Wildlife Service to monitor the status and trends of North American bird populations.

The data were analyzed and weighted according to methods developed through extensive peer review and revision, yielding an improved assessment of actual peril that can be used to determine bird conservation priorities and funding, say the two organizations. They hope this report will come to be viewed as a benchmark for the future.

"Adoption of this list as the industry standard will help to ensure that conservation resources are allocated to the most important conservation needs," said David Pashley, American Bird Conservancy's director of conservation programs and co-author of the new list.

A pair of spectacled eider ducks. (Photo by Benjamin Clock courtesy Cornell University)

WatchList 2007 identifies 59 continental and 39 Hawaiian "red list" species of greatest concern, and 119 more birds in the "yellow" category of seriously declining or rare species.

The WatchList score is the sum of the four sub-scores. Birds with a score of 20 are at greatest risk for extinction, including Gunnison sage-grouse, California condor, whooping crane, piping plover, black-capped vireo, Florida scrub-jay, golden-cheeked warbler, and Kirtland's warbler.

"Habitat loss due to development, energy exploration and extraction, and the impact of global warming remain serious threats for the most imperiled species, along with others on both the red and yellow lists," said Pashley.

"How quickly and effectively we act to protect and support the species on this list will determine their future; where we've taken aggressive action, we've seen improvement," he said.

A warming Arctic and oil development are threatens to the federally protected spectacled eider duck. Ingestion of lead shot also threatens this species, along with an increase in nest predation by foxes, mink, gulls, and jaegers. As virtually all of the world's spectacled eiders overwinter in an area of the central Bering Sea 30 miles in diameter, they are vulnerable to any environmental change there.

Suburban development, agricultural conversion, and fire suppression in Texas and Oklahoma have decreased the breeding habitat for protected migratory songbirds, such as the golden-cheeked warbler and the black-capped vireo whose song repertoire is five times more diverse than that of other vireos.

A Gunnison sage-grouse (Photo courtesy Audubon Society)

And for the Gunnison sage-grouse, which is not a protected species under the Endangered Species Act, drought and livestock grazing are destroying its Colorado-Utah habitat.

When conservation efforts are made, the birds respond positively. The case of the whooping crane is classic. Unregulated shooting and loss of habitat reduced this species to fewer than 20 individuals around the turn of the 20th century. Implementation of a recovery plan developed under the Endangered Species Act has resulted in more than a 1,000 percent increase in population to over 200 individuals, and has spawned efforts to establish additional wild breeding populations.

The California condor is also recovering - but slowly. Once reduced to nine individual wild birds, this raptor now numbers 305 individuals, including 148 free-flying birds. Lead bullets are a critical threat to long-term survival, as fragments poison wild condors that eat the remains of hunters' kills. Audubon California and American Bird Conservancy have spearheaded recent passage of legislation eliminating lead bullets in the range of the condor in that state.

"Everyone, from conservation groups to policymakers and birdwatchers, needs to take a hard look at these lists and use them to inform and hone our conservation approaches and funding priorities while there's still time," says Audubon Bird Conservation Director and co-author of the new list, Greg Butcher.

"It's astounding that several are so close to the edge but haven't even received Endangered Species Act protection," he said. "This list is a reminder that we need to act and act now."

A young whooping crane raised in captivity spreads its wings. (Photo courtesy USGS)

Legislative action may help create favorable circumstances for the recovery of bird species. The Audubon Society is calling for a range of actions from Congress from support for the Endangered Species Act, to limits on greenhouse gases that warm the planet, to stronger conservation initiatives in the upcoming reauthorization of the farm bill.

While biofuels have the potential to help reduce dependence on polluting fossil fuels, a rush to ethanol could result in deforestation and destruction of bird-friendly grasslands to make way for corn fields, Audubon cautions.

Rather than removing land from conservation for corn production to make ethanol, Audubon is advocating increased production of cellulosic ethanol within the conservation programs of the farm bill. Cellulosic ethanol is produced from tall grasses and other materials that require less intensive use of the land than corn.

Audubon also is seeking environmental safeguards for ethanol production from corn, including minimal inputs of nutrients and pesticides and decreased erosion as well as support for the wetlands, grasslands and conservation reserve programs.

Audubon's last national WatchList was issued in 2002 and the two organizations intend to revise the WatchList every three to five years.

To view the WatchList 2007, visit: http://web1.audubon.org/science/species/watchlist/

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2007. All rights reserved.