Seattle bird populations, diversity are declining, new study finds 29%
By Sami West0%
6/1/2026, 8:03:27 AM
Topics: Animals, Climate Change
BS Summary: This article contains 36 faulty reasoning types, including Appeal to Authority, Appeal to Emotion, and Framing Effect, with Ambiguity (Equivocation) as the most egregious example at 16.1% saturation with 170 hits. Analysis detected 2,094 faulty-reasoning hits from 1,053 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 39.1% and a BS Rank of 29% (15,738 of 21,887 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 71.90% of the article peer group.
Bad news for Seattle birdwatchers: The Emerald City’s bird communities are in trouble.
Average bird counts across Seattle dropped by 21% from 2005 to 2023, according to a new study from Birds Connect Seattle.
The nonprofit’s “Neighborhood Bird Project” volunteers have been studying birds for decades at eight Seattle sites, including Golden Gardens Park, Seward Park, and the Washington Park Arboretum.
Titled “Fewer and Fewer,” the study also finds that the city’s bird species diversity — or the total number of species present across those eight sites — fell 18% within the same time period.
In addition, over half of the city’s bird species are in decline.
These findings are largely reflective of bird population trends across North America.
But Joshua Morris, conservation director for Birds Connect Seattle, says these findings have big implications in Seattle and across Washington — not just for the birds, but for humans, too.
“One of the big concerns is an increasing disconnect from nature,” Morris told KUOW’s “Seattle Now” in a recent interview, noting 84% of Washingtonians reside in urban areas.
“We see birds as a really important tool for maintaining urbanites’ connection to nature and maintaining the support for continued conservation and climate action.”
And these trends are not expected to improve anytime soon, due to the looming threat of climate change.
Just over 60% of bird species with declining trends — and nearly 55% of species that are considered stable — are moderately or highly vulnerable to climate change, according to the study.
“Most of all birds here in Seattle are climate threatened, but there is a disproportionate threat to species that already seem to be doing badly,” Morris explained.
Some of the species that have seen the steepest declines over the last nearly two decades in Seattle include shorebirds, blackbirds, swallows, kinglets, band-tailed pigeons, and bushtits, according to the study.
Among the eight sites included in the study, Lake Forest Park, at the north end of Lake Washington saw the largest drop in bird counts with a 42% decline.
Next was Washington Park Arboretum with a 41% decline, then Golden Gardens with a 36% decrease, followed by Magnuson Park and Discovery Park with 32% and 25% drops, respectively.
Many factors contribute to dwindling bird counts and species richness in Seattle, Morris said.
But, historically, the main driver is habitat loss.
“That continues to be a really important threat that we need to address,” he said.
Standing in Washington Park Arboretum, Morris pointed to kinglets as an example.
The study revealed the population of golden-crowned kinglets fell by 85% at the Arboretum.
That species is known as a “mature forest specialist,” Morris said, which means these feathered friends are particularly vulnerable to even the slightest changes in forest habitat quality.
Tree canopy cover at the Arboretum, decreased somewhere between 58% and 64% from 2016 to 2021, according to the study.
“That was due to the construction of the Arboretum Loop Trail,” Morris explained.
“There were 100 trees that were removed for that.
They were replanted at a ratio of three to one.
But in the meantime, we’ve lost that habitat, and birds can be sensitive to small changes in their environment.”
But habitat loss goes beyond forest cover, Morris said.
“It’s not just about trees,” he explained.
“It’s about all the different structures and layers of habitat and plants that are part of the forest and that invite and support biodiversity.”
Another piece of the puzzle can be simple changes in bird behavior and movement.
Take American crows.
At first glance, it would appear crows are declining at the Washington Park Arboretum.
But Morris said the counts themselves don’t tell the story of whether it’s actually a drop in population, or if it’s due to other factors.
Through additional research, Morris said his organization found that the north end of the Arboretum had previously been used to support a crow roost.
In the 2000s, it moved to the University of Washington-Bothell campus.
“It became very well known and it was a spectacle of nature to behold, where thousands of crows would fly into the university campus every evening,” Morris said.
“And that has since moved again — so those changing crow roosts and movements could be associated or could be one of the reasons why we see fewer crows here at the Arboretum.”
What will it take to reverse these trends?
Morris says there is a “growing body of evidence” that shows habitat conservation and restoration work.
“That is a really encouraging signal,” he said.
“It takes a while, and it takes a lot of money, but not that much money compared to what we spend on other things.”
That’s not to say that it’s an easy fix.
“Seattleites are very environmentally minded, but still it’s an uphill battle,” Morris said.
“Seeking funding and support for new projects is really difficult.
But clearly we’re not doing enough, and our data are showing us that birds are not doing well under the current status quo of our parks management.”
And there are things you as an individual can do, too, Morris said.
“It’s not just about habitat restoration,” he said, “but protecting the habitat we do have.”
He pointed to Savannah sparrows.
Counts of the grassland species declined by nearly 75% throughout the city.
Discovery Park, which is home to one of the city’s largest meadows, helps explain why that is.
“If you go visit, you’ll see that the meadow is incredibly fragmented, and the vegetation is trampled from off-trail park visitors and pets that have been allowed off leash,” he explained.
“So even though the habitat is there, the quality is such that birds are struggling.”
There’s also a bit of a “PR problem” at play when it comes to birds.
These trends, though alarming, are probably not noticeable to the average person.
So, Morris’ top call to action is simple: Get out there and go birding.
“Go out to your local parks and start paying attention to your birds.
You don’t even have to go to a park.
Go out to your neighborhood, walk your neighborhood streets,” he said.
“Birds are an amazing group of animals that bring positive experiences and connections with wildlife right next to our homes, unlike any other group of animals.”
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