Birds In Trouble

Weighing as much as a nickel, this ground-nesting migratory bird has been documented flying over the Atlantic Ocean for 48 hours nonstop en route to its South American winter home.

Wisconsin DNR surveys for this bird in 2021 and 2022 found only three breeding pairs in a single area. DNR and partners are taking emergency actions to try to stem the slide.

Destruction of the Gran Chaco forest, the second largest in South America, could be a major reason for its steep decline in Wisconsin and across its range.

Photo: Jeremy Meyer

This large finch has a large beak to crack open seeds in winter. In summer, it turns to insects like the spruce budworm, a serious forest pest.

Once a birdfeeder favorite, Evening Grosbeaks have plummeted 92% across their North American range since 1970. In Wisconsin, they were found in 86% fewer survey blocks in 2015-2019 than 20 years earlier.

The American Bird Conservancy points to habitat loss, climate change, pesticides and collisions with windows as the major threats.

Photo: Ryan Brady

Known for their flutelike calls, Western Meadowlarks are often more easily heard than seen. Look for males singing from fence posts, power lines, and other high points.

In Wisconsin, this striking bird was found in 66% fewer survey areas in 2015-19 than 20 years earlier.

Grassland birds like the Western Meadowlark have suffered the biggest losses among landbirds in North America over the last 50 years due to habitat loss.

Photo credit: Ryan Brady.

This vividly colored migratory warbler has suffered population declines over much of its range in recent decades. About a quarter of the world’s remaining population nests in northern and central Wisconsin and half in Minnesota, giving our states an outsized responsibility determining their fate.

Golden-winged warblers spend winters in open woodlands and on shade-coffee plantations in Central and South America. They’re “supercolliders,” vulnerable to flying into windows far out of proportion to their low numbers.

Photo: Ryan Brady

Wood thrushes are known for having one of the most beautiful songs in the bird world. They’re unlikely to come to feeders but listen for them if you live near a small woodlot. Look for them digging through leaf litter on the forest floor for insects.

Populations of this migratory bird have declined 60% over the last 50 years.

While forest losses in Central America were once thought to be driving the declines, more recent research has concluded that the loss of habitat on breeding grounds in North America has been a bigger problem.

Photo: Michael Parr, American Bird Conservancy

Bobolinks travel some 12,500 miles to and from southern South America every year and nest in Wisconsin’s grasslands.

While migrating, these birds can orient themselves with the earth’s magnetic field because of iron oxide in bristles in their nasal cavity and in tissues around the olfactory bulb and nerve. Bobolinks also use the starry night sky to guide their travels.

They completely change feathers, or molt, twice a year, according to All About Birds.

Photo: Nick Anich

Barn swallows are the most abundant swallow on Earth and they are known for their graceful acrobatics. They spend most of their time on the wing and eat insects on the fly, but nest almost exclusively on barns and other structures made by people.

Populations in North America have declined by one-third since 1970. Leading theories suggest the decline’s driven by declining insect populations, a mismatch in the timing of when insect numbers are greatest and swallows are breeding, or conditions on their wintering grounds or during migration.

Photo: Nick Anich

This bird’s crossed bills are adapted for prying open spruce cones to get at the seeds. Flocks travel long distances across the boreal zones of the northern hemisphere, searching for good spruce cone stocks. Where they find them, they may settle briefly to build nests and raise young, regardless of the season, according to Audubon.

White-winged crossbills suffered some of the biggest declines documented during the Wisconsin Breeding Bird Atlas II; they were found in 86% fewer survey blocks than 20 years earlier.

Photo: Ryan Brady

This bird nests in remote forests in Wisconsin but was recently made Canada’s national bird. It’s name was changed from Gray Jay to Canada Jay in 2018 by the American Ornithological Society, the scientific body charged with naming North American species, Audubon reports.

This is one hardy bird. It nests in late winter and incubates its eggs in temperatures that may drop below - 20°F. Canada Jays store large quantities of food, using sticky saliva to glue small food items to tree branches above the height of the eventual snow line, according to All About Birds.

Photo: Thorsten Spoerlein

Eastern kingbirds eat mostly flying insects during the summer and defend breeding territory vigorously. In winter, they travel in flocks in South America and eat fruit.

Their scientific name — Tyrannus — means “tyrant, despot, or king,” refers to the aggression kingbirds exhibit with each other and with other species, according to All About Birds. They will attack much larger predators like hawks, crows, and squirrels.

This bird is familiar statewide and common, but numbers in Wisconsin are tanking.

Photo: Cynthia Carlson

Baltimore Orioles are a welcome sign of spring in Wisconsin, a treat for eyes and ears. Males with their bright orange plumage sing from the tops of trees while females weave their remarkable hanging nests from slender fibers.

These birds are fond of fruit and nectar as well as insects and Baltimore Orioles are easily lured to backyard feeders.

While this backyard favorite is doing okay in Wisconsin, its population has declined 40% across its North American range, largely due to the loss of eastern U.S. forest.

Photo: Tom Prestby