Since 1970, habitat loss, destructive farming practices, and urbanization have caused the loss of around a quarter of North America’s entire bird population. Around the world, more than half of all birds are in decline. But there is still hope!
Over the past few decades, conservation initiatives have proved that when we come together, humans can also perform miracles to reverse the damage and save species from the brink of extinction.
Here, we’ll look at some of the most impressive bird conservation success stories from around the world that are sure to instill a sense of hope and optimism that everything is possible.
We’ll even cover one species that was long thought to be extinct before it made an epic recovery! Be sure to read to the end for that story.
Sandhill Crane
Let’s launch our uplifting list with a bird that you may well have seen in the skies lately. The sandhill crane is a highly migratory bird that can now be seen across almost all of North America – but that wasn’t always the case.
During the 1800s and early 1900s, overhunting and habitat loss caused sandhill cranes to be wiped out from most of their native range, including most states east of the Mississippi River. By the 1940s, there were only an estimated several thousand remaining.
Cranes are some of the oldest species of bird on the planet. Fossil records suggest a close relative of the Sandhill crane was present in North America 10 million years ago, so it’d be all the more tragic to lose them.
Thankfully, hunting restrictions and captive breeding programs helped the recovery of these beloved birds, and according to abcbirds.org, sandhill cranes now number 650,000 across North America, and are ever-increasing.
As a symbol of peace and prosperity, we should all be celebrating the triumphant victory of these magical birds.
Trumpeter Swan
The trumpeter swan is an impressive bird. Not only are they the largest species of waterfowl in the world and the heaviest of any North American bird, but they’re surely also one of the most beautiful and graceful birds on the continent.
It makes it all the more surprising then, that a hundred years ago, trumpeter swans were nearly driven to extinction. By the 1930s, excessive hunting had reduced their numbers to a mere 69 known specimens in the contingent states.
Realizing they had to step in to save the birds, the government imposed a nationwide hunting ban, since which numbers have recovered dramatically. A continent-wide survey between the years 2000-2005 found the species numbers more than tripled from around 11,000 to almost 35,000 during those 5 years.
The story just goes to show that sometimes some simple legislation is enough to turn around the fate of a glorious bird that might have otherwise disappeared forever. With that safety net, conservationists have further improved their recovery by reintroduction and habitat preservation initiatives.
Bald Eagle
While hunting, habitat loss, and invasive predators have decimated many bird species, it was the use of an ill-conceived agrochemical that led to the widespread demise of The United States’s totem bird species.
DDT, a poorly researched insecticide, was first released for public sale in the USA in 1945. It quickly became widespread on farms across the country with catastrophic effects on wildlife, especially birds of prey.
After poisoned insects were eaten, the chemical accumulated in the food chain, causing the eggs of raptors like eagles to become fragile, fracture, and fail. By 1970, Bald eagles in the contiguous states numbered just 400 breeding pairs.
The US government eventually gave in to environmentalist campaigns to ban DDT in 1972. Since then, bald eagle numbers have recovered dramatically, and today, there are now well over one thousand pairs in the contiguous states.
California Condor
While the prize for North America’s heaviest bird goes to the trumpeter swan, the gold medal for the broadest wingspan goes to a species that had an even closer brush with extinction.
The California condor used to be widespread across the West, but lead poisoning, DDT insecticide, collisions with pylons, and the young ingesting rubbish all led to a devastating decline. By 1987, only 27 individuals were left.
Realizing it was now or never, a government program captured the remaining birds to breed them in captivity. Although the long-lived raptors breed very slowly, the captive breeding program has been an overwhelming success.
In 2007, recovery efforts received another huge boost when California banned the use of lead ammunition – one of the leading causes of death of these huge scavengers that often feed on animals that have been shot.
Today, there are more than 300 birds in the wild, and their numbers are steadily increasing.
Black Stilt
New Zealand’s black stilt’s devastating decline is a classic story of the disastrous effects of the careless introduction of foreign predators. The introduction of cats, rats, ferrets, and stoats by both Polynesian and European settlers spelled a wave of extinction for many of New Zealand’s native birds.
Because many of the islands’ birds were flightless and ill-equipped to escape, they made easy pickings for the invasive mammals. With 56 species of bird wiped out, a shocking one-third of New Zealand’s native birds are thought to no longer exist.
While the black stilt, or ‘Kakī ’ does have wings to escape predators, their ground-nesting habit makes their eggs and young vulnerable to predators. By 1981, a mere 23 black stilts were remaining in the wild, prompting extensive conservation efforts from New Zealand’s government to save them from disappearing.
Thanks to predator control and captive breeding programs, black stilts now number more than 170 individuals. To see the heartwarming breeding and reintroduction of the black stilt, be sure to check out this short heartwarming video.
Eastern Bluebird
Yet another reason for the decline of native birds is competition from foreign bird species for resources such as territories and nest sites.
The eastern bluebird is one such species that suffered substantially from the introduction of invasive birds from foreign lands. During the 20th century, introduced house sparrows and European starlings began competing heavily with Eastern bluebirds for nest sites.
Because the new species were more aggressive, they quickly dominated the suitable cavities that the bluebirds were previously using. Thankfully, citizens of the Eastern states weren’t going to stand by and watch their beloved bluebirds get wiped out.
Organizations like the North American Bluebird Society have worked hard to raise awareness about bluebird conservation. The widespread installation of bluebird nest boxes has been instrumental in the recovery of Eastern bluebirds, which now number at least 20 million.
Tibetan Bunting
If you’ve never heard of the Tibetan bunting, you’re not alone. As one of the rarest birds on the planet, the species needed all the help it could get to survive in our fast-changing world. Luckily, there was a remarkable man who decided to devote himself to saving the unassuming songbird.
Tashi Sangpo, a Tibetan Buddhist monk, has been teaching himself about local bird species since childhood. Now in his forties, Sangpo is a leader in Tibetan bird conservation, and has been affectionately dubbed the ‘bird lama’.
By training nomadic yak herders and his fellow monks to monitor bird populations, Sangpo managed to collect enough data to get the Tibetan bunting’s precious remaining breeding grounds protected. In one such valley, the bunting’s numbers increased from 5 individuals to around 30 in just 4 years.
Tashi and his growing conservation team have also managed to get other threatened birds in the region, such as the majestic white-eared pheasant official protection. Part of his success is owed to Tibetan culture, which considers every living creature sacred, and regards birds as ‘bridges between heaven and earth’.
Takahē
Now for one of the most incredible species recovery stories of the last century! The takahē, a prehistoric-looking, flightless bird of New Zealand was long-presumed extinct when a small population of them was rediscovered in 1948.
Hidden in a remote valley in the Murchison mountains, the species managed to survive the ravages of the many predatory mammals and human hunters that only arrived recently on the islands. Because the takahē can’t fly, exposed populations were easy targets for both hungry mammals and men.
The incredible-looking birds are now maintained by the New Zealand Department of Conservation, which has managed to increase the surviving population on small offshore islands where they’re safe from predators.
Today, their population exceeds 500 individuals, and they recently made the headlines with their reintroduction to Lake Whakatipu Waimāori Valley, where they haven’t been seen for around 100 years. The video of them running free from their crates might just bring tears to your eyes!
Don’t Despair – Others Care!
Any time someone tells you that the world’s ecology issues are beyond repair, don’t despair! There are a wealth of success stories out there that are sure to evoke optimism and inspiration.
Point your friends towards upbeat articles like this one to show them that when we take responsibility for nature, we really can repair the damage that we’ve done.
Creating a backyard sanctuary for wild birds is one of the best steps you can take to help local species, and by doing so, you may encourage others to do the same. You can find out more about how to do that here.