BirdAnalyst
Bird Conservation Region 13

Lower Great Lakes / St. Lawrence Plain

An ecological region spanning New-york, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, with 86 survey routes. BCRs are the natural unit for bird trends.

What Is Moving HereNotable signalsLong-arc shifts the engine flags automatically — sustained declines or increases large enough to stand out from year-to-year noise.Full methodology →

long arc declinecomputed indexTrend sourceWhether the figure is our own computed route-weighted index or an official USGS modeled estimate. The current build labels every trend as computed.Full methodology →

Northern Bobwhite has collapsed in Lower Great Lakes / St. Lawrence Plain: down 99% on the route-weighted index since 1968.

long arc increasecomputed indexTrend sourceWhether the figure is our own computed route-weighted index or an official USGS modeled estimate. The current build labels every trend as computed.Full methodology →

Carolina Wren has surged in Lower Great Lakes / St. Lawrence Plain: up 68× on the route-weighted index since 1969.

long arc declinecomputed indexTrend sourceWhether the figure is our own computed route-weighted index or an official USGS modeled estimate. The current build labels every trend as computed.Full methodology →

Ring-necked Pheasant has collapsed in Lower Great Lakes / St. Lawrence Plain: down 98% on the route-weighted index since 1968.

long arc increasecomputed indexTrend sourceWhether the figure is our own computed route-weighted index or an official USGS modeled estimate. The current build labels every trend as computed.Full methodology →

Ring-billed Gull has surged in Lower Great Lakes / St. Lawrence Plain: up 35× on the route-weighted index since 1968.

long arc declinecomputed indexTrend sourceWhether the figure is our own computed route-weighted index or an official USGS modeled estimate. The current build labels every trend as computed.Full methodology →

Grasshopper Sparrow has collapsed in Lower Great Lakes / St. Lawrence Plain: down 95% on the route-weighted index since 1968.

long arc increasecomputed indexTrend sourceWhether the figure is our own computed route-weighted index or an official USGS modeled estimate. The current build labels every trend as computed.Full methodology →

Canada Goose has surged in Lower Great Lakes / St. Lawrence Plain: up 31× on the route-weighted index since 1971.

How Guilds Are FaringGuild trendA mean-index aggregate across the species in this group — the structural direction of the guild, with individual-species noise smoothed out.Full methodology →

-72%

Game birds

4 species
-63%

Wetland birds

17 species
-63%

Grassland birds

9 species
-51%

Generalists

11 species
-4%

Aerial insectivores

17 species
+21%

Forest birds

76 species
+43%

Shorebirds

4 species
+182%

Birds of prey

14 species
+545%

Waterfowl

8 species

Survey Routes

Species By FamilyTrendPercent change in the route-weighted abundance index between a smoothed baseline window and the most recent one. It tracks direction, not absolute population.Full methodology →

Hawks, Eagles & Kites Accipitridae

American Goshawk -12%Bald Eagle +806%Broad-winged Hawk +96%Cooper's Hawk +327%Northern Harrier +74%Red-shouldered Hawk +304%Red-tailed Hawk +281%Sharp-shinned Hawk -25%

Larks Alaudidae

Horned Lark -42%

Kingfishers Alcedinidae

Belted Kingfisher -40%

Ducks, Geese & Waterfowl Anatidae

American Black Duck -92%Blue-winged Teal -61%Canada Goose 31×Common Merganser -15%Hooded Merganser -53%Mallard +90%Mute Swan -61%Wood Duck +180%

Swifts Apodidae

Chimney Swift -40%

Herons, Egrets & Bitterns Ardeidae

American Bittern +42%Black-crowned Night Heron -47%Great Blue Heron +69%Great Egret +143%Green Heron -9%

Waxwings Bombycillidae

Cedar Waxwing +222%

Nightjars & Nighthawks Caprimulgidae

Common Nighthawk -51%Eastern Whip-poor-will -58%

Cardinals & Grosbeaks Cardinalidae

Indigo Bunting +63%Northern Cardinal +289%Rose-breasted Grosbeak +1%Scarlet Tanager -1%

New World Vultures Cathartidae

Turkey Vulture +787%

Treecreepers Certhiidae

Brown Creeper +334%

Plovers & Lapwings Charadriidae

Killdeer -4%

Pigeons & Doves Columbidae

Mourning Dove +94%Rock Pigeon -33%

Crows, Jays & Magpies Corvidae

American Crow +23%Blue Jay +54%Common Raven 21×Fish Crow +81%

Cuckoos, Roadrunners & Anis Cuculidae

Black-billed Cuckoo -92%Yellow-billed Cuckoo -34%

Falcons & Caracaras Falconidae

American Kestrel -2%

Finches Fringillidae

American Goldfinch -15%House Finch 13×Pine Siskin -56%Purple Finch -48%

Loons Gaviidae

Common Loon +35%

Swallows & Martins Hirundinidae

Bank Swallow -72%Barn Swallow +6%Cliff Swallow +118%Northern Rough-winged Swallow -8%Purple Martin -28%Tree Swallow -15%

Blackbirds & Orioles Icteridae

Baltimore Oriole -52%Bobolink -68%Brown-headed Cowbird -36%Common Grackle -65%Eastern Meadowlark -88%Orchard Oriole +880%Red-winged Blackbird -60%

Yellow-breasted Chat Icteriidae

Yellow-breasted Chat -94%

Gulls, Terns & Skimmers Laridae

Common Tern -65%Herring Gull -4%Ring-billed Gull 35×

Mockingbirds & Thrashers Mimidae

Brown Thrasher -60%Gray Catbird +110%Northern Mockingbird 16×

New World Quail Odontophoridae

Northern Bobwhite -99%

Osprey Pandionidae

Osprey 20×

Chickadees & Titmice Paridae

Black-capped Chickadee +178%Carolina Chickadee +434%Tufted Titmouse +387%

Wood-Warblers Parulidae

American Redstart +167%Black-and-white Warbler +164%Black-throated Blue Warbler -57%Black-throated Green Warbler +68%Blackburnian Warbler +317%Blue-winged Warbler -32%Canada Warbler -77%Cerulean Warbler -61%Chestnut-sided Warbler +101%Common Yellowthroat +38%Golden-winged Warbler -3%Hooded Warbler 22×Kentucky Warbler -26%Louisiana Waterthrush -9%Magnolia Warbler -46%Mourning Warbler -13%Nashville Warbler +120%Northern Parula +146%Northern Waterthrush +36%Ovenbird +159%Pine Warbler 12×Prairie Warbler +47%Worm-eating Warbler +0%Yellow Warbler +25%

New World Sparrows Passerellidae

Chipping Sparrow +74%Eastern Towhee -52%Field Sparrow -56%Grasshopper Sparrow -95%Henslow's Sparrow -95%Savannah Sparrow -50%Song Sparrow -5%Swamp Sparrow +98%Vesper Sparrow -87%White-throated Sparrow -70%

Old World Sparrows Passeridae

House Sparrow -61%

Cormorants Phalacrocoracidae

Double-crested Cormorant +243%

Pheasants, Grouse & Turkeys Phasianidae

Ring-necked Pheasant -99%Ruffed Grouse -57%Wild Turkey 17×

Woodpeckers Picidae

Downy Woodpecker +67%Hairy Woodpecker +121%Pileated Woodpecker +282%Red-bellied Woodpecker 30×Red-headed Woodpecker +6%Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 17×

Grebes Podicipedidae

Pied-billed Grebe +13%

Gnatcatchers Polioptilidae

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher +12%

Rails, Gallinules & Coots Rallidae

Common Gallinule -58%Sora -17%Virginia Rail -28%

Kinglets Regulidae

Golden-crowned Kinglet +144%Ruby-crowned Kinglet -8%

Sandpipers & Allies Scolopacidae

American Woodcock +17%Spotted Sandpiper -87%Upland Sandpiper -93%Wilson's Snipe -29%

Nuthatches Sittidae

Red-breasted Nuthatch +287%White-breasted Nuthatch +178%

Owls Strigidae

Barred Owl +170%Eastern Screech-Owl -40%Great Horned Owl -2%

Starlings & Mynas Sturnidae

European Starling -34%

Hummingbirds Trochilidae

Ruby-throated Hummingbird +118%

Wrens Troglodytidae

Carolina Wren 68×Marsh Wren +19%Northern House Wren +59%Sedge Wren +34%Winter Wren +730%

Thrushes Turdidae

American Robin +13%Eastern Bluebird +413%Hermit Thrush -27%Swainson's Thrush -38%Veery -25%Wood Thrush -47%

Tyrant Flycatchers Tyrannidae

Acadian Flycatcher +164%Alder Flycatcher +521%Eastern Kingbird -32%Eastern Phoebe +35%Eastern Wood-Pewee +101%Great Crested Flycatcher -1%Least Flycatcher -58%Willow Flycatcher +87%

Vireos Vireonidae

Blue-headed Vireo +360%Red-eyed Vireo +125%Warbling Vireo +225%White-eyed Vireo +149%Yellow-throated Vireo +43%

Source: USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey, retrieved 2026-08-14.