Scientists detect alarming bird population decline in Bay Area: Here’s what can be done

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — There’s a concerning trend in the Bay Area: bird populations are declining at an alarming rate.

The latest report by the San Francisco Bay Joint Venture and Point Blue Conservation Science points to a concerning decline of shorebirds over the last two decades.

“I was shocked. The declines range from 25% to 86% for some of these birds since 2006,” said Julian Wood, SF Bay Program Leader at Point Blue Conservation Science.

For almost a year, scientists monitored approximately 20 different bird species, five in different habitat groups and, had over 100 volunteers involved. The last time they published a report like this one was in 2011.

This new review is trying to “raise awareness about what the needs are for some of those species and how to reverse those declines,” said Wood.

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Glenn Phillips, Executive Director of the Golden Gate Bird Alliance, explains what could be contributing to the decline.

“Either they are not successfully reproducing, so they are not raising as many young as they used to, or they are dying young and they are not being able to survive, and we think it’s a combination of all of those things. For some species it is more one or the other,” said Phillips.

The report also highlights what is working in the Bay.

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“There are some nice signs. It’s not that every species is declining. So, it shows that our conservation actions can help birds, so there are some species that are doing better than they were a decade ago,” said Phillips.

Scientists are pointing to the MLK marsh as an example of a marsh that have been restored in the Bay Area that is helping some species stay here and increase in numbers.

Wood hopes their findings lead to more investment in restorations.

“We are hoping people can celebrate the success of restoration in the Bay and see the progress that we have made towards boosting some of these species’ bird population, and hoping that people are aware of the decline of some of these species,” said Wood.

Access to the full report here.