Guild
Wetland Birds
84 species tracked. As a group, wetland birds are -58% since 1968.
Guild Signals
guild collapsecomputed index
Wetland birds as a group have fallen sharply in surveyed states, down 58% since 1968.
Forecast
If the recent trend holds, Wetland birds as a group is projected to fall about 24% by 2029 — from 0.79 in 2024 to a central estimate of 0.60 (95% range 0.41–0.79). A 5-year backtest shows a typical error of ±13.7%, with 100% of held-out values landing inside the 95% band.
-24%Change by 2029
0.60Projected 2029 index
0.41–0.7995% range
±13.7%Backtest error
| Year | Projected index | 95% low | 95% high |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 0.67 | 0.48 | 0.86 |
| 2026 | 0.65 | 0.46 | 0.84 |
| 2027 | 0.63 | 0.45 | 0.82 |
| 2028 | 0.62 | 0.43 | 0.81 |
| 2029 | 0.60 | 0.41 | 0.79 |
Wetland Birds By State
| Alaska | -96% | 21 |
| Connecticut | -92% | 10 |
| Arizona | -89% | 16 |
| South Carolina | -82% | 21 |
| Ohio | -78% | 11 |
| Indiana | -76% | 13 |
| Idaho | -75% | 26 |
| Colorado | -74% | 23 |
| Virginia | -74% | 21 |
| West Virginia | -71% | 4 |
| Georgia | -70% | 22 |
| Rhode Island | -69% | 8 |
| Pennsylvania | -68% | 12 |
| Vermont | -64% | 11 |
| Maine | -64% | 16 |
| Massachusetts | -61% | 16 |
| Wyoming | -61% | 20 |
| Michigan | -58% | 20 |
| New York | -56% | 23 |
| Florida | -55% | 39 |
| Illinois | -53% | 16 |
| New Hampshire | -52% | 12 |
| Texas | -52% | 42 |
| Mississippi | -50% | 17 |
| Missouri | -50% | 12 |
| Alabama | -49% | 33 |
| Nebraska | -48% | 21 |
| California | -46% | 39 |
| Maryland | -45% | 26 |
| Tennessee | -44% | 11 |
| Kentucky | -39% | 9 |
| South Dakota | -38% | 24 |
| New Mexico | -37% | 18 |
| Oregon | -37% | 31 |
| Minnesota | -37% | 27 |
| North Carolina | -32% | 31 |
| Iowa | -31% | 12 |
| Wisconsin | -29% | 24 |
| Louisiana | -26% | 36 |
| Washington | -19% | 27 |
| Arkansas | -18% | 15 |
| Nevada | -17% | 22 |
| Kansas | -9% | 22 |
| New Jersey | +16% | 24 |
| North Dakota | +31% | 28 |
| Utah | +37% | 27 |
| Montana | +40% | 22 |
| Delaware | +48% | 23 |
| Oklahoma | +64% | 16 |
Member Species
| Common Tern | Laridae | -97% | 1968 |
| Heermann's Gull | Laridae | -97% | 1981 |
| Saltmarsh Sparrow | Passerellidae | -91% | 1968 |
| Least Tern | Laridae | -90% | 1968 |
| Western Gull | Laridae | -86% | 1970 |
| Roseate Tern | Laridae | -85% | 1972 |
| Reddish Egret | Ardeidae | -83% | 1968 |
| Black Skimmer | Laridae | -82% | 1968 |
| Pelagic Cormorant | Phalacrocoracidae | -81% | 1970 |
| Aleutian Tern | Laridae | -81% | 1985 |
| Western Grebe | Podicipedidae | -71% | 1988 |
| King Rail | Rallidae | -71% | 1968 |
| Herring Gull | Laridae | -70% | 1968 |
| Royal Tern | Laridae | -70% | 1968 |
| Green Heron | Ardeidae | -67% | 1968 |
| Little Blue Heron | Ardeidae | -63% | 1968 |
| Tricolored Heron | Ardeidae | -61% | 1968 |
| Belted Kingfisher | Alcedinidae | -59% | 1968 |
| Black-crowned Night Heron | Ardeidae | -57% | 1968 |
| Purple Gallinule | Rallidae | -56% | 1969 |
| Seaside Sparrow | Passerellidae | -55% | 1968 |
| Tricolored Blackbird | Icteridae | -53% | 1970 |
| Boat-tailed Grackle | Icteridae | -53% | 1968 |
| Red-winged Blackbird | Icteridae | -52% | 1968 |
| Clapper Rail | Rallidae | -47% | 1968 |
| Wood Stork | Ciconiidae | -45% | 1968 |
| Black Tern | Laridae | -44% | 1968 |
| Horned Grebe | Podicipedidae | -40% | 1971 |
| Bonaparte's Gull | Laridae | -34% | 1982 |
| Snowy Egret | Ardeidae | -30% | 1968 |
| Glaucous Gull | Laridae | -21% | 1986 |
| Laughing Gull | Laridae | -20% | 1968 |
| White Ibis | Threskiornithidae | -19% | 1968 |
| American Bittern | Ardeidae | -16% | 1968 |
| Great-tailed Grackle | Icteridae | -14% | 1969 |
| Limpkin | Aramidae | -13% | 1968 |
| Great Egret | Ardeidae | -10% | 1968 |
| Great Black-backed Gull | Laridae | -5% | 1968 |
| Glossy Ibis | Threskiornithidae | -1% | 1968 |
| Western Cattle-Egret | Ardeidae | +2% | 1968 |
| Swamp Sparrow | Passerellidae | +9% | 1968 |
| Yellow-crowned Night Heron | Ardeidae | +20% | 1968 |
| Clark's Grebe | Podicipedidae | +21% | 1988 |
| American Coot | Rallidae | +25% | 1968 |
| Virginia Rail | Rallidae | +26% | 1968 |
| Common Loon | Gaviidae | +44% | 1968 |
| Anhinga | Anhingidae | +48% | 1968 |
| Rusty Blackbird | Icteridae | +48% | 1968 |
| Pied-billed Grebe | Podicipedidae | +54% | 1968 |
| Yellow Rail | Rallidae | +59% | 1979 |
| Great Blue Heron | Ardeidae | +66% | 1968 |
| Ridgway's Rail | Rallidae | +69% | 1978 |
| Common Gallinule | Rallidae | +72% | 1968 |
| Caspian Tern | Laridae | +81% | 1968 |
| Least Bittern | Ardeidae | +97% | 1968 |
| Glaucous-winged Gull | Laridae | +100% | 1970 |
| Gull-billed Tern | Laridae | +101% | 1968 |
| Forster's Tern | Laridae | +105% | 1968 |
| Sora | Rallidae | +107% | 1968 |
| Least Grebe | Podicipedidae | +115% | 1972 |
| American Dipper | Cinclidae | +120% | 1970 |
| Sandwich Tern | Laridae | +123% | 1979 |
| Brandt's Cormorant | Phalacrocoracidae | +154% | 1970 |
| Ring-billed Gull | Laridae | +155% | 1968 |
| Neotropic Cormorant | Phalacrocoracidae | +155% | 1971 |
| Yellow-headed Blackbird | Icteridae | +166% | 1968 |
| Double-crested Cormorant | Phalacrocoracidae | +177% | 1968 |
| Roseate Spoonbill | Threskiornithidae | +192% | 1969 |
| Franklin's Gull | Laridae | +222% | 1969 |
| American White Pelican | Pelecanidae | +250% | 1969 |
| Brown Pelican | Pelecanidae | +253% | 1968 |
| Nelson's Sparrow | Passerellidae | +297% | 1970 |
| California Gull | Laridae | +360% | 1970 |
| White-faced Ibis | Threskiornithidae | +385% | 1969 |
| Pacific Loon | Gaviidae | +401% | 1983 |
| Arctic Tern | Laridae | +556% | 1977 |
| Black-legged Kittiwake | Laridae | +572% | 1982 |
| Short-billed Gull | Laridae | +655% | 1976 |
| Red-necked Grebe | Podicipedidae | +756% | 1971 |
| Sandhill Crane | Gruidae | 18× | 1968 |
| Eared Grebe | Podicipedidae | 77× | 1969 |
| Black Rail | Rallidae | n/a | n/a |
| Red-throated Loon | Gaviidae | n/a | n/a |
| unid Black-crowned / Yellow-crowned Night Heron | Ardeidae | n/a | n/a |