More than half of Earth’s migratory bird species are declining – here’s how we can still save them

Per The Conversation, an international research team assessed more than thirty-three hundred migratory bird species and found a sobering conclusion: more than half are in decline. The threats include habitat loss, invasive species, building collisions, hunting, the pet trade, and toxic pesticides. Three species illustrate the scope. The bobolink breeds across North American grasslands but winters in South America—conserving only breeding habitat cannot reverse its decline if pesticides poison the birds or wintering grasslands disappear. Newell's shearwaters spend most of their lives over the Pacific Ocean but return to Hawaii to breed, where artificial lights and introduced predators threaten already vulnerable populations. The spoon-billed sandpiper, critically endangered, depends on tidal mudflats that serve as stopover sites between Russia and Southeast Asia—losing even a handful of these areas jeopardizes one of the world's rarest birds. But there is hope. Miniature tracking devices, genetics, and citizen-science networks have transformed how scientists understand migratory birds and where conservation will have the greatest impact. A new approach is emerging: protecting the birds' entire annual cycle—breeding grounds, wintering habitats, and migration stopovers—rather than single locations or threats. The Road to Recovery initiative demonstrates what this strategy can accomplish, bringing together scientists, governments, conservation organizations, and local communities through more than fifty working groups to reverse losses before these species become endangered.

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