Counts show decline in many high-elevation species across the Northeast since 2010
By Chloe Bennett
On many June mornings, volunteers have camped along Adirondack Park peaks listening to the songs of the boreal forest. These citizen scientists each year count and record the existence of a set of bird species atop the park’s mountains.
Birds found in high elevations, including Bicknell’s thrush, chickadees and the white-throated sparrow are singled out from the natural symphony as part of the Vermont Center for Ecostudies’ bird watch project, which has operated for more than 20 years. The program’s 2023 report, released this winter, shows a decline in nearly all of the studied species.
Climate change is a root cause of the population reduction, the report states.
The monitored birds are a mix of species that mainly inhabit mountains and those found in low elevations that are expected to inch upslope as temperatures warm. Watched birds, including Bicknell’s thrush, white-throated sparrow and winter wren, have declined by 40%, the data showed.
The results were unsurprising to the report’s author, Jason Hill, who said harmful climate impacts on the birds will be long-lasting. “The processes driving these long-term trends that are reported in the State of the Mountain Birds report aren’t ephemeral,” Hill, a quantitative ecologist for the Vermont Center for Ecostudies, said. “They are choices that we make as a society.”
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Volunteers from the Adirondacks often include some from the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Angelena Ross, the department’s avian and mammal diversity unit leader, got involved to help study the effects of climate change.
“The vegetation these species rely on has no more room to expand upslope with increasing temperatures, which essentially results in shrinking islands of suitable forests surrounding the peaks of these mountains,” Ross said. A biologist with a background in bird research, she has also led a multi-year project to increase the population of spruce grouse in the Adirondacks.
One observed bird, the white-throated sparrow, is declining across the globe. The Northeast has seen a reduction in the bird’s population since 2010 averaging 61%, the report found. The Adirondacks are the second steepest decline after the Catskills.
It was around the year 2021 that one volunteer, Joan Collins, noticed a major difference in bird populations. “You would go out there on a perfect day with no wind, which is really rare up there, early in the season in June when you should just be surrounded by birdsong, and there were moments when it was just dead quiet,” said Collins, who is on the board of the Northern New York Audubon Society.
Putting the findings into perspective, Hill likened the data to seeing a steep change in one’s retirement or savings account. “The money you’re setting aside for a new car or to send your kids to college — and that had just been declining steadily — you’d be panicking,” he said. “And for folks that study montane organisms like myself, that’s the sense of feeling I get.”
Solutions for all
Hill said he is optimistic that he will see the population data flattening out in the future, signaling the success of climate mitigation efforts. In the meantime, small-scale solutions can also be deployed by anyone with a backyard or land around their home, he said.
“One of the best things you could do is kill your lawn,” he said.
Instead of mowing grass in the summer, Hill suggested slowly adopting a native plant habitat for pollinators like birds. According to the National Audubon Society, birds benefit from native plants with increased food and shelter. Nursery plants installed on lawns are often from other countries, the organization states.
“Stop using chemicals around your house, stop using neonicotinoids and other pesticides and embrace the organic component of it,” Hill said. Keeping pet cats inside also helps, he said, as the felines likely kill billions of birds each year, according to the American Bird Conservancy.
People concerned about bird population decline can also join the Vermont Center for Ecostudies’ bird watch this summer. Several spots in the High Peaks, including on Porter Mountain, have yet to be reserved for the 2024 project, according to a map on the center’s website.
To read the State of the Mountain Birds report, click here.
Photo at top: A song sparrow and a white-throated sparrow. Photo by Larry Master
It is so sad to have so few birds around now. I used to collect the fallen feathers which were plenty, on hikes in the woods. Now even fallen feathers are very rare. It’s often too quiet in the woods. Where are the creatures, insects, birds? I can hear the overly busy distant highways, I don’t want to hear those sounds anymore.
Check out Ebird Camels Hump State Forest, The Morrison Place/Stevens Block Chittenden County,Vt. Volunteers have done extensive vegetation management for 36 years. Softmast release (Serviceberry, 3 species of cherry, rubus, dogwood, over 400 apple trees), Red Oak plantings, Conifer Regeneration, Creating and Maintaining Forest Openings, Aspen & Alder Regeneration, Wetland Buffers, etc. Over 120 avian species monitored by Audobon. Photos on Google Map “The Morrison Place” Starksboro, Vt. On Vt. Route17 nears it junction with Gore Road near Stark Mountain. Birds like all wildlife need food and cover resources.
Awesome! https://www.greenmountainaudubon.org/the-hermit-thrush/the-morrison-place
We need to do this in NY around the Adirondacks where the second-growth forest is not healthy. The time to plant (mast-producing native species) is now! And smack down the invasives so the natives can thrive. Any advice on finding a forester who wants to plant an ecosystem more than a timber wood? Thanks.
It is estimated that domestic cats kill 1.5-4 billion (with a B) birds each year (yes every year) in the US alone. You wanna help birds get rid of cats…
I am very concerned about the ongoing devastation of trees and plants caused by aggressive and invasive vines. I see it everywhere, it is very sad and breaks my heart, it is so widespread, in my backyard, the neighbors, parks, along highways, climbing fences, poles, seen it in parks of Tennessee, Maryland, NJ, virginia, south Carolina, etc. Affecting climate, no photosynthesis increase Co2, how can we control this disaster? I have also noticed a decline in birds, no nests. Please look up and you’ll see. Thank you
LED lights are having a huge negative impact on birds and insects.
I’m interested in learning more about Mike’s comment regarding the impact of LED lights on birds and insects.
As a Master Gardener I’ve seen and read about all the devastation to our forests due to invasive species – both insects and plant life. In the Adk, we’ve had the spongy moth for some years. However, now we are seeing spotted lantery fly, Beech Leaf Disease, knotweed, oak wilt, jumping worms, woolly agelid ,and the list goes on. It seems like every other month we are hearing of a new non-native destroying our native species. This causes old growth forests to die off and new ones are not taking root. This, too, has impacted the bird population. Now there are fewer of these and many of the winter birds that we welcomed are not returning.
These non-native species are causing detrimental damage to our ecosystems, our health, and environment. I agree that climate change is a definite factor, but we also need to find ways to identify these species sooner and find ways to eradicate them.
We’ve hiked the Adirondacks (including the High Peaks) for the last 30 years. We can see the difference.
It should be noted that most of the species studied are migratory songbirds. We tend to focus on climatic changes at their traditional breeding sites, which only tells a fraction of the story. In reality, many of these birds spend most of their lives elsewhere. While breeding activity, stresses, nutrition, and predation are significant, so too are the same factors during migration and over-wintering.
Focusing on breeding factors and paying little attention to the rest of their year will skew our understanding of the populations of each species. Critical components to study are migration losses both in Spring and Fall, mortality, nutrition, and predation stresses during non-breeding seasons, and health/vigor of migrants upon returning to breeding grounds AND wintering areas. While climate change is likely implicated in all stresses to migratory birds, we risk missing important population health factors if we spend too much effort studying breeding losses only.