BirdAnalyst
State · BBS 2025 Release · 1966–2024

Alaska Breeding Birds

244 species recorded across 135 survey routes, 1968 to 2024. Browse by family or guild below.

Alaska Bird Population TrendsNotable 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 →

Barn Swallow has collapsed in Alaska: down 99% on the route-weighted index since 1973.

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 →

Greater White-fronted Goose has surged in Alaska: up 20× on the route-weighted index since 1988.

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 →

Say's Phoebe has collapsed in Alaska: down 99% on the route-weighted index since 1983.

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 →

Smith's Longspur has surged in Alaska: up 12× on the route-weighted index since 1997.

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 →

Great Blue Heron has collapsed in Alaska: down 97% on the route-weighted index since 1973.

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 →

Dunlin has surged in Alaska: up 12× on the route-weighted index since 1989.

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

-98%

Birds of prey

19 species
-96%

Wetland birds

21 species
-89%

Game birds

5 species
-69%

Waterfowl

25 species
-65%

Aerial insectivores

12 species
-43%

Forest birds

51 species
-36%

Generalists

6 species
-16%

Seabirds

4 species
+3%

Grassland birds

9 species
+12%

Shorebirds

24 species

Alaska Bird Survey Routes

Browse Alaska Birds 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 →

Each species links to its trend in Alaska.

Hawks, Eagles & Kites Accipitridae

American Goshawk -77%Bald Eagle -76%Golden Eagle -77%Northern Harrier -66%Red-tailed Hawk +3%Rough-legged Hawk +121%Sharp-shinned Hawk -60%

Larks Alaudidae

Horned Lark +83%

Kingfishers Alcedinidae

Belted Kingfisher -71%

Auks, Murres & Puffins Alcidae

Marbled Murrelet +97%Pigeon Guillemot -49%

Ducks, Geese & Waterfowl Anatidae

American Wigeon +246%Barrow's Goldeneye -28%Black Scoter +1%Bufflehead -36%Canada Goose +137%Canvasback +535%Common Eider +69%Common Goldeneye -21%Common Merganser -87%Gadwall -87%Greater Scaup +45%Greater White-fronted Goose 20×Green-winged Teal -52%Harlequin Duck -76%Lesser Scaup +153%Long-tailed Duck -17%Mallard -67%Northern Pintail +66%Northern Shoveler -52%Red-breasted Merganser -42%Ring-necked Duck +59%Surf Scoter -61%Trumpeter Swan +107%Tundra Swan +174%White-winged Scoter -90%

Herons, Egrets & Bitterns Ardeidae

Great Blue Heron -97%

Waxwings Bombycillidae

Bohemian Waxwing -79%Cedar Waxwing +4%

Longspurs & Snow Buntings Calcariidae

Lapland Longspur -53%Smith's Longspur 12×Snow Bunting +252%

Cardinals & Grosbeaks Cardinalidae

Western Tanager +208%

Treecreepers Certhiidae

Brown Creeper -61%

Plovers & Lapwings Charadriidae

American Golden-Plover -17%Killdeer +260%Pacific Golden-Plover -19%Semipalmated Plover -20%

Dippers Cinclidae

American Dipper -84%

Pigeons & Doves Columbidae

Eurasian Collared-Dove +22%Rock Pigeon -84%

Crows, Jays & Magpies Corvidae

American Crow -39%Black-billed Magpie +98%Canada Jay +9%Common Raven +48%Steller's Jay -73%

Falcons & Caracaras Falconidae

American Kestrel -49%Gyrfalcon -57%Merlin +76%Peregrine Falcon +48%

Finches Fringillidae

Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch -92%Pine Grosbeak -61%Pine Siskin -85%Red Crossbill -79%White-winged Crossbill +151%

Loons Gaviidae

Common Loon -45%Pacific Loon +3%Red-throated Loon +145%

Cranes Gruidae

Sandhill Crane +134%

Oystercatchers Haematopodidae

Black Oystercatcher -74%

Swallows & Martins Hirundinidae

Bank Swallow -82%Barn Swallow -99%Cliff Swallow -84%Tree Swallow +90%Violet-green Swallow +51%

Blackbirds & Orioles Icteridae

Red-winged Blackbird -59%Rusty Blackbird -32%

Shrikes Laniidae

Northern Shrike -64%

Gulls, Terns & Skimmers Laridae

Aleutian Tern -91%Arctic Tern -61%Black-legged Kittiwake +21%Bonaparte's Gull -79%Glaucous Gull -96%Glaucous-winged Gull +214%Herring Gull -96%Short-billed Gull -59%

Wagtails & Pipits Motacillidae

American Pipit -48%Eastern Yellow Wagtail -73%

Old World Flycatchers & Chats Muscicapidae

Bluethroat +328%Northern Wheatear +12%

Osprey Pandionidae

Osprey +359%

Chickadees & Titmice Paridae

Black-capped Chickadee -58%Boreal Chickadee +113%Chestnut-backed Chickadee +169%

Wood-Warblers Parulidae

American Redstart -34%Blackpoll Warbler +7%Common Yellowthroat -65%MacGillivray's Warbler -92%Northern Waterthrush +180%Orange-crowned Warbler +331%Tennessee Warbler -90%Townsend's Warbler +131%Wilson's Warbler +4%Yellow Warbler -5%

New World Sparrows Passerellidae

American Tree Sparrow +518%Chipping Sparrow -39%Fox Sparrow +82%Golden-crowned Sparrow +240%Lincoln's Sparrow +22%Savannah Sparrow +365%Song Sparrow -47%White-crowned Sparrow -28%

Cormorants Phalacrocoracidae

Pelagic Cormorant -77%

Pheasants, Grouse & Turkeys Phasianidae

Rock Ptarmigan -86%Ruffed Grouse +37%Sooty Grouse -86%Spruce Grouse -83%Willow Ptarmigan +87%

Leaf Warblers Phylloscopidae

Arctic Warbler -49%

Woodpeckers Picidae

American Three-toed Woodpecker +112%Black-backed Woodpecker +182%Downy Woodpecker -37%Hairy Woodpecker -66%Red-breasted Sapsucker +3%

Grebes Podicipedidae

Horned Grebe -84%Red-necked Grebe -84%

Rails, Gallinules & Coots Rallidae

Sora -27%

Kinglets Regulidae

Golden-crowned Kinglet +73%Ruby-crowned Kinglet +128%

Sandpipers & Allies Scolopacidae

Bar-tailed Godwit -45%Black Turnstone +6%Bristle-thighed Curlew -41%Dunlin 12×Greater Yellowlegs +32%Hudsonian Godwit -53%Least Sandpiper +278%Lesser Yellowlegs -48%Red-necked Phalarope -30%Rock Sandpiper -77%Ruddy Turnstone -58%Semipalmated Sandpiper +291%Short-billed Dowitcher -58%Solitary Sandpiper +68%Spotted Sandpiper +100%Upland Sandpiper -81%Wandering Tattler -38%Western Sandpiper +31%Whimbrel +66%Wilson's Snipe +102%

Nuthatches Sittidae

Red-breasted Nuthatch +801%

Skuas & Jaegers Stercorariidae

Long-tailed Jaeger +342%Parasitic Jaeger -88%

Owls Strigidae

Boreal Owl -72%Great Gray Owl +48%Great Horned Owl -49%Northern Hawk Owl -76%Northern Pygmy-Owl -9%Northern Saw-whet Owl -18%Short-eared Owl -54%

Starlings & Mynas Sturnidae

European Starling -88%

Hummingbirds Trochilidae

Rufous Hummingbird -85%

Wrens Troglodytidae

Pacific Wren -15%

Thrushes Turdidae

American Robin +37%Gray-cheeked Thrush -58%Hermit Thrush +155%Swainson's Thrush -6%Townsend's Solitaire +26%Varied Thrush +143%

Tyrant Flycatchers Tyrannidae

Alder Flycatcher -27%Hammond's Flycatcher +134%Least Flycatcher -23%Olive-sided Flycatcher +107%Say's Phoebe -99%Western Wood-Pewee -9%Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 15×

Vireos Vireonidae

Warbling Vireo +778%

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