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 →

Ring-necked Pheasant 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 62× 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 →

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 →

Ring-billed Gull has surged in Lower Great Lakes / St. Lawrence Plain: up 34× 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 →

Henslow's Sparrow has collapsed in Lower Great Lakes / St. Lawrence Plain: down 94% 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 32× 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 →

-84%

Game birds

4 species
-62%

Grassland birds

9 species
-61%

Wetland birds

16 species
-52%

Generalists

11 species
-8%

Aerial insectivores

17 species
+15%

Shorebirds

4 species
+17%

Forest birds

76 species
+158%

Birds of prey

14 species
+490%

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 +556%Broad-winged Hawk +45%Cooper's Hawk +294%Northern Harrier +74%Red-shouldered Hawk +167%Red-tailed Hawk +332%Sharp-shinned Hawk -1%

Larks Alaudidae

Horned Lark -40%

Kingfishers Alcedinidae

Belted Kingfisher -33%

Ducks, Geese & Waterfowl Anatidae

American Black Duck -92%Blue-winged Teal -61%Canada Goose 32×Common Merganser -6%Hooded Merganser -52%Mallard +118%Mute Swan -61%Wood Duck +116%

Swifts Apodidae

Chimney Swift -45%

Herons, Egrets & Bitterns Ardeidae

American Bittern +10%Black-crowned Night Heron -47%Great Blue Heron +86%Green Heron -12%

Waxwings Bombycillidae

Cedar Waxwing +201%

Nightjars & Nighthawks Caprimulgidae

Common Nighthawk -64%Eastern Whip-poor-will -58%

Cardinals & Grosbeaks Cardinalidae

Indigo Bunting +64%Northern Cardinal +273%Rose-breasted Grosbeak +6%Scarlet Tanager -2%

New World Vultures Cathartidae

Turkey Vulture +768%

Treecreepers Certhiidae

Brown Creeper +348%

Plovers & Lapwings Charadriidae

Killdeer -7%

Pigeons & Doves Columbidae

Mourning Dove +97%Rock Pigeon -32%

Crows, Jays & Magpies Corvidae

American Crow +23%Blue Jay +58%Common Raven 22×Fish Crow +102%

Cuckoos, Roadrunners & Anis Cuculidae

Black-billed Cuckoo -80%Yellow-billed Cuckoo +21%

Falcons & Caracaras Falconidae

American Kestrel -4%

Finches Fringillidae

American Goldfinch -19%House Finch 13×Pine Siskin -56%Purple Finch -58%

Loons Gaviidae

Common Loon +38%

Swallows & Martins Hirundinidae

Bank Swallow -84%Barn Swallow -2%Cliff Swallow +157%Northern Rough-winged Swallow -26%Purple Martin -31%Tree Swallow -3%

Blackbirds & Orioles Icteridae

Baltimore Oriole -55%Bobolink -66%Brown-headed Cowbird -37%Common Grackle -65%Eastern Meadowlark -88%Orchard Oriole +837%Red-winged Blackbird -62%

Yellow-breasted Chat Icteriidae

Yellow-breasted Chat -94%

Gulls, Terns & Skimmers Laridae

Common Tern -64%Herring Gull +18%Ring-billed Gull 34×

Mockingbirds & Thrashers Mimidae

Brown Thrasher -60%Gray Catbird +105%Northern Mockingbird 18×

New World Quail Odontophoridae

Northern Bobwhite -99%

Osprey Pandionidae

Osprey 23×

Chickadees & Titmice Paridae

Black-capped Chickadee +171%Carolina Chickadee +342%Tufted Titmouse +369%

Wood-Warblers Parulidae

American Redstart +139%Black-and-white Warbler +168%Black-throated Blue Warbler -60%Black-throated Green Warbler +80%Blackburnian Warbler +295%Blue-winged Warbler -39%Canada Warbler -77%Cerulean Warbler -59%Chestnut-sided Warbler +88%Common Yellowthroat +32%Golden-winged Warbler -23%Hooded Warbler 18×Kentucky Warbler -26%Louisiana Waterthrush -20%Magnolia Warbler -44%Mourning Warbler -44%Nashville Warbler +47%Northern Parula +90%Northern Waterthrush +71%Ovenbird +177%Pine Warbler 14×Prairie Warbler +62%Worm-eating Warbler +0%Yellow Warbler +11%

New World Sparrows Passerellidae

Chipping Sparrow +70%Eastern Towhee -52%Field Sparrow -61%Grasshopper Sparrow -94%Henslow's Sparrow -95%Savannah Sparrow -50%Song Sparrow -7%Swamp Sparrow +94%Vesper Sparrow -86%White-throated Sparrow -71%

Old World Sparrows Passeridae

House Sparrow -59%

Cormorants Phalacrocoracidae

Double-crested Cormorant +216%

Pheasants, Grouse & Turkeys Phasianidae

Ring-necked Pheasant -99%Ruffed Grouse -56%Wild Turkey 16×

Woodpeckers Picidae

Downy Woodpecker +84%Hairy Woodpecker +153%Pileated Woodpecker +311%Red-bellied Woodpecker 31×Red-headed Woodpecker -2%Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 16×

Grebes Podicipedidae

Pied-billed Grebe +5%

Gnatcatchers Polioptilidae

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher +3%

Rails, Gallinules & Coots Rallidae

Common Gallinule -58%Sora -16%Virginia Rail -30%

Kinglets Regulidae

Golden-crowned Kinglet +150%Ruby-crowned Kinglet -7%

Sandpipers & Allies Scolopacidae

American Woodcock +17%Spotted Sandpiper -87%Upland Sandpiper -93%Wilson's Snipe -1%

Nuthatches Sittidae

Red-breasted Nuthatch +450%White-breasted Nuthatch +200%

Owls Strigidae

Barred Owl +147%Eastern Screech-Owl -40%Great Horned Owl -1%

Starlings & Mynas Sturnidae

European Starling -37%

Hummingbirds Trochilidae

Ruby-throated Hummingbird +157%

Wrens Troglodytidae

Carolina Wren 62×Marsh Wren +41%Northern House Wren +63%Sedge Wren +34%Winter Wren +784%

Thrushes Turdidae

American Robin +7%Eastern Bluebird +425%Hermit Thrush +2%Swainson's Thrush -38%Veery -30%Wood Thrush -55%

Tyrant Flycatchers Tyrannidae

Acadian Flycatcher +176%Alder Flycatcher +429%Eastern Kingbird -38%Eastern Phoebe +30%Eastern Wood-Pewee +88%Great Crested Flycatcher -8%Least Flycatcher -61%Willow Flycatcher +67%

Vireos Vireonidae

Blue-headed Vireo +550%Red-eyed Vireo +120%Warbling Vireo +197%White-eyed Vireo +182%Yellow-throated Vireo +18%

Source: USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey, retrieved 2026-05-22.