By John C. Ogden, Director of Bird Conservation, Audubon of Florida

Recently a friend of mine commented that he has discovered that his young daughter’s impression of the normal birdlife around her neighborhood is different than his own impression from when he was a kid in the same neighborhood.  His powerful message with this comment is that his daughter is not experiencing and enjoying the same level of abundance and diversity of birds that he did, and that she has no way of realizing that what she is seeing is different than what it used to be.   My friend considered that his daughter is experiencing a new normal.

The fact is that the numbers of many of the common birds in our lives are declining, and that these declines are occurring, for the most part, at such a slow pace and over such a long period of time that most of us are unaware of the long-term magnitude of these changes.  Thus, few of us realize we also are experiencing a new normal for the birds we encounter in everyday living.

An exception are those people who have written notes or records of the birds they have seen in a location over long periods, and thus have quantitative evidence of the changes in birdlife.  I have commented during presentations made to Audubon Chapters around Florida that I have monthly lists of species seen for my home near Homestead, beginning in 1988.  These lists tell the tale of what is happening with too many of our once common birds.  On a monthly basis, and especially during winter and periods of migration, the number of species of birds seen in and around my three acre property is about 40% lower this year than it was 15-20 years ago.  Among the birds that are no longer of regular occurrence are raptors (Red-tailed and Broad-winged Hawks and Barn Owls), woodpeckers (Pileated, Downy and Flicker), and several birds of woodland edges and brushy fields (Phoebe, Carolina Wren, House Wren, White-eyed Vireo).

Audubon of Florida is embarking on a new bird conservation program that is designed to both elevate awareness of the changes going on among once common species, and to establish collaborative efforts with Audubon chapters and other partners to develop more effective conservation strategies for a number of these birds.  The plan is to initially concentrate our conservation efforts on a few focal species of greatest concern.  Among the birds we are considering for initial attention are Common Nighthawk, Common Flicker, Red-headed Woodpecker, Eastern Towhee, Painted Bunting, and Eastern Meadowlark.  This summer, Audubon volunteers from the chapters in Alachua and St. Johns counties are testing new survey techniques, by conducting county-wide “blitzes” to locate remaining Red-headed Woodpeckers in these two counties.  We will use this information to better define habitat requirements of the Red-heads, as a basis for developing more effective habitat protection programs.

By next year we plan on expanding the county-wide surveys, and to add additional birds to the list to be surveyed.  We are seeking funding to support this program, and to expand it into many regions of the state.  For more information, please contact me at jogden@audubon.org.