Audubon Society reports over 25% of U.S. birds at risk

William Atkins
Friday, 30 November 2007 19:54

Science - Climate

On Wednesday, November 28, 2007, the American Bird Conservancy, along with the Audubon Society, recommended that 178 bird species in the continental United States and 39 species in Hawaii be protected from various environmental problems.      

These 217 different species of birds are on WatchList 2007, which is considered the most scientific based list of birds at highest risk in the United States.

The WatchList 2007 website states: “Audubon and the America Bird Conservancy have joined forces to rally conservationists around America's most imperiled birds. WatchList 2007, a new analysis from these leading bird conservation organizations, uses the latest available research from the bird conservation community along with citizen science data from the Christmas Bird Count and the annual Breeding Bird Survey to identify 178 species in the continental U.S. and 39 in Hawaii that are in need of immediate conservation help. It is a call to action to save species fighting for survival amid a convergence of environmental challenges, including habitat loss, invasive species and global warming.”

According to an United Press International article, Greg Butcher, who is the Audubon Bird Conservation Direction, stated, "Agreeing on which species are at the greatest risk is the first step in building the public policies, funding support, innovative conservation initiatives and public commitment needed to save them."

The two groups are looking for government legislation from all levels of government, along with the help of U.S. citizens and private industry. They base their findings on studies and data from the annual Christmas Bird Counts and Breeding Bird Survey.

Of the 178 species in the continental United States, 59 of them are at greatest risk of extinction, while all of the 39 Hawaiian species are considered at the highest level of extinction risk.

The risk to these birds comes from such environmental factors as urban development, industrialization, diseases, invasive species, global warming, and habitat loss.

Of the continental U.S. birds on the list, the following birds are at most risk:

Gunnuson sage grouse, lesser prairie chicken, California condor, whooping crane, piping plover, black-capped vireo, Florida scrub jay, golden-cheeked warbler;

Kirland’s warbler, ashy storm petrel, Kittlitz’s murrelet, red-cockaded woodpecker, spectacled eider, redish egret, and black rail;

Buff-breasted sandpiper, saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrow, tricolored blackbird, yellow rail, and Zantus’s murrelet.