BirdAnalyst
State · BBS 2026 Release · 1966–2025

Alaska Breeding Birds

245 species recorded across 135 survey routes, 1968 to 2025. 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 →

Smith's Longspur has surged in Alaska: up 11× 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 →

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 →

Red-breasted Nuthatch has surged in Alaska: up 930% on the route-weighted index since 1991.

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 →

Greater White-fronted Goose has surged in Alaska: up 841% on the route-weighted index since 1988.

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
-83%

Game birds

5 species
-75%

Waterfowl

25 species
-67%

Aerial insectivores

12 species
-44%

Forest birds

51 species
-36%

Generalists

6 species
-18%

Seabirds

4 species
-2%

Shorebirds

24 species
+11%

Grassland birds

9 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 -74%Bald Eagle -81%Golden Eagle -75%Northern Harrier -63%Red-tailed Hawk -27%Rough-legged Hawk +127%Sharp-shinned Hawk -61%

Larks Alaudidae

Horned Lark +70%

Kingfishers Alcedinidae

Belted Kingfisher -62%

Auks, Murres & Puffins Alcidae

Marbled Murrelet +80%Pigeon Guillemot -41%

Ducks, Geese & Waterfowl Anatidae

American Wigeon +114%Barrow's Goldeneye -30%Black Scoter +16%Bufflehead -26%Canada Goose +60%Canvasback 26×Common Eider +68%Common Goldeneye -33%Common Merganser -91%Gadwall -90%Greater Scaup +49%Greater White-fronted Goose +841%Green-winged Teal -55%Harlequin Duck -86%Lesser Scaup +204%Long-tailed Duck -59%Mallard -72%Northern Pintail +43%Northern Shoveler -68%Red-breasted Merganser -57%Ring-necked Duck +145%Surf Scoter -52%Trumpeter Swan +21%Tundra Swan +110%White-winged Scoter -91%

Herons, Egrets & Bitterns Ardeidae

Great Blue Heron -98%

Waxwings Bombycillidae

Bohemian Waxwing -81%Cedar Waxwing -34%

Longspurs & Snow Buntings Calcariidae

Lapland Longspur -51%Smith's Longspur 11×Snow Bunting +252%

Cardinals & Grosbeaks Cardinalidae

Western Tanager +178%

Treecreepers Certhiidae

Brown Creeper -54%

Plovers & Lapwings Charadriidae

American Golden-Plover -44%Killdeer +260%Pacific Golden-Plover -3%Semipalmated Plover -5%

Dippers Cinclidae

American Dipper -85%

Pigeons & Doves Columbidae

Eurasian Collared-Dove +22%Rock Pigeon -88%

Crows, Jays & Magpies Corvidae

American Crow -37%Black-billed Magpie +106%Canada Jay +19%Common Raven +53%Steller's Jay -72%

Falcons & Caracaras Falconidae

American Kestrel -56%Gyrfalcon -36%Merlin +66%Peregrine Falcon +47%

Finches Fringillidae

Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch -92%Pine Grosbeak -50%Pine Siskin -81%Red Crossbill -79%White-winged Crossbill +156%

Loons Gaviidae

Common Loon -47%Pacific Loon +11%Red-throated Loon +155%

Cranes Gruidae

Sandhill Crane +95%

Oystercatchers Haematopodidae

Black Oystercatcher -76%

Swallows & Martins Hirundinidae

Bank Swallow -85%Barn Swallow -99%Cliff Swallow -92%Tree Swallow +77%Violet-green Swallow +54%

Blackbirds & Orioles Icteridae

Red-winged Blackbird -58%Rusty Blackbird -60%

Shrikes Laniidae

Northern Shrike -33%

Gulls, Terns & Skimmers Laridae

Aleutian Tern -85%Arctic Tern -51%Black-legged Kittiwake -22%Bonaparte's Gull -93%Glaucous Gull -96%Glaucous-winged Gull +262%Herring Gull -97%Short-billed Gull -56%

Wagtails & Pipits Motacillidae

American Pipit -42%Eastern Yellow Wagtail -74%

Old World Flycatchers & Chats Muscicapidae

Bluethroat +612%Northern Wheatear +10%

Osprey Pandionidae

Osprey +254%

Chickadees & Titmice Paridae

Black-capped Chickadee -58%Boreal Chickadee +100%Chestnut-backed Chickadee +154%

Wood-Warblers Parulidae

American Redstart -44%Blackpoll Warbler +16%Common Yellowthroat -64%MacGillivray's Warbler -93%Northern Waterthrush +129%Orange-crowned Warbler +294%Tennessee Warbler -92%Townsend's Warbler +115%Wilson's Warbler +3%Yellow Warbler -10%

New World Sparrows Passerellidae

American Tree Sparrow +500%Chipping Sparrow -42%Fox Sparrow +77%Golden-crowned Sparrow +239%Lincoln's Sparrow +13%Savannah Sparrow +369%Song Sparrow -48%White-crowned Sparrow -18%

Cormorants Phalacrocoracidae

Pelagic Cormorant -78%

Pheasants, Grouse & Turkeys Phasianidae

Rock Ptarmigan -78%Ruffed Grouse +32%Sooty Grouse -83%Spruce Grouse -75%Willow Ptarmigan +204%

Leaf Warblers Phylloscopidae

Arctic Warbler -50%

Woodpeckers Picidae

American Three-toed Woodpecker +82%Black-backed Woodpecker +182%Downy Woodpecker -42%Hairy Woodpecker -69%Red-breasted Sapsucker -9%

Grebes Podicipedidae

Horned Grebe -83%Red-necked Grebe -86%

Rails, Gallinules & Coots Rallidae

Sora -26%

Kinglets Regulidae

Golden-crowned Kinglet +81%Ruby-crowned Kinglet +129%

Sandpipers & Allies Scolopacidae

Bar-tailed Godwit -45%Black Turnstone +6%Bristle-thighed Curlew -41%Dunlin +804%Greater Yellowlegs +36%Hudsonian Godwit -61%Least Sandpiper +331%Lesser Yellowlegs -49%Red-necked Phalarope -50%Rock Sandpiper -69%Ruddy Turnstone -58%Semipalmated Sandpiper +227%Short-billed Dowitcher -51%Solitary Sandpiper +27%Spotted Sandpiper +44%Upland Sandpiper -81%Wandering Tattler -38%Western Sandpiper +31%Whimbrel +97%Wilson's Snipe +96%

Nuthatches Sittidae

Red-breasted Nuthatch +930%

Skuas & Jaegers Stercorariidae

Long-tailed Jaeger +362%Parasitic Jaeger -88%

Owls Strigidae

Boreal Owl -72%Great Gray Owl +46%Great Horned Owl -61%Northern Hawk Owl -69%Northern Pygmy-Owl -33%Northern Saw-whet Owl -18%Short-eared Owl -62%

Starlings & Mynas Sturnidae

European Starling -90%

Hummingbirds Trochilidae

Rufous Hummingbird -90%

Wrens Troglodytidae

Pacific Wren -11%

Thrushes Turdidae

American Robin +35%Gray-cheeked Thrush -54%Hermit Thrush +142%Swainson's Thrush -8%Townsend's Solitaire +26%Varied Thrush +135%

Tyrant Flycatchers Tyrannidae

Alder Flycatcher -32%Hammond's Flycatcher +138%Least Flycatcher -23%Olive-sided Flycatcher +78%Say's Phoebe -99%Western Wood-Pewee -8%Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 17×

Vireos Vireonidae

Warbling Vireo +551%

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