It’s difficult to be optimistic about the future of North American birds in the face of a relentless avalanche of news about national policy changes that can challenge conservation efforts.

First, the bad news: The U.S North American Bird Conservation Initiative just released its State of the Birds 2025 report, and the birds with the most dire losses continue to be grassland birds, a 43% decline since 1970.

One of the most anticipated sounds of spring in northern Virginia is the exquisite song of the returning Wood Thrush.

Birdlife International’s State of the World’s Birds 2022 (SOTWB 2022) concludes that the world’s birds are in a fragile condition: One out of 5 of the world’s 11,000 species is threatened or near threatened with extinction. 

The 2022 State of the Birds report gives us concern but also provides some basis for hope for the future.

Bird conservation helps to slow the decline in bird populations, but it also contributes to human well-being in a variety of ways.