ABC BirdScapes
Description
Migratory Birds are Disappearing. BirdScapes will bring them back. The great streams of migratory birds that once filled North America's skies are dwindling as habitat loss, climate change, and other threats take their toll. The declines cast doubt on the continued survival of these birds and the greatest wildlife phenomenon in the Western Hemisphere.
Confronting these threats, and bringing back the birds, requires innovation on a grand scale. That's the thinking behind our new BirdScapes approach, which builds on our 20+ years of experience with migratory bird conservation.
Moving Conservation Targets
It's no small feat to conserve birds that travel 4,000 miles or more each year across continents and international borders. We're working to ensure that priority species have the habitat they require at all stages of their life-cycles: breeding, wintering, and stopover on migration.
We call these priority habitat areas BirdScapes. They are places that are large enough to increase the numbers of target species, but small enough to facilitate measurement of results. See Map Here
From the Northern Prairie BirdScape, where Long-billed Curlews breed, to the Guatemala Conservation Coast, where Golden-winged Warblers and other migratory birds winter among shade-grown crops, BirdScapes are strategically placed to have the greatest impact.
BirdScapes in Brief
A BirdScape typically covers 150,000 to 2.5 million acres. Each one is unique, shaped by local and regional conditions. But some elements are common to nearly all BirdScapes. For example, natural habitats that provide for the needs of priority birds, areas in need of restoration, working lands for people, and protected areas.
Regardless of composition, BirdScapes are places where smart land-use leads to successful bird conservation, creating win-win results for both people and birds.