BirdAnalyst
State · BBS 2025 Release · 1966–2024

Delaware Breeding Birds

159 species recorded across 17 survey routes, 1966 to 2024. Browse by family or guild below.

Delaware 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 →

Northern Bobwhite has collapsed in Delaware: 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 Delaware: up 54× on the route-weighted index since 1970.

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 →

Eastern Meadowlark has collapsed in Delaware: 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 →

Pileated Woodpecker has surged in Delaware: up 42× on the route-weighted index since 1971.

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 →

Common Tern has collapsed in Delaware: down 90% 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 →

Forster's Tern has surged in Delaware: up 37× on the route-weighted index since 1977.

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

-90%

Game birds

3 species
-28%

Generalists

10 species
+4%

Grassland birds

4 species
+15%

Shorebirds

3 species
+48%

Wetland birds

23 species
+86%

Forest birds

53 species
+179%

Aerial insectivores

15 species
+321%

Birds of prey

11 species
22×

Waterfowl

4 species

Delaware Bird Survey Routes

Browse Delaware 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 Delaware.

Hawks, Eagles & Kites Accipitridae

Bald Eagle 34×Cooper's Hawk +164%Northern Harrier +26%Red-shouldered Hawk +776%Red-tailed Hawk +564%

Larks Alaudidae

Horned Lark +46%

Kingfishers Alcedinidae

Belted Kingfisher +4%

Ducks, Geese & Waterfowl Anatidae

American Black Duck +45%Canada Goose 54×Mallard +20%Wood Duck +73%

Swifts Apodidae

Chimney Swift -41%

Herons, Egrets & Bitterns Ardeidae

Black-crowned Night Heron +34%Great Blue Heron 34×Great Egret +404%Green Heron +70%Little Blue Heron +21%Snowy Egret 23×Western Cattle-Egret -46%

Waxwings Bombycillidae

Cedar Waxwing +96%

Nightjars & Nighthawks Caprimulgidae

Chuck-will's-widow +42%Common Nighthawk -89%Eastern Whip-poor-will -86%

Cardinals & Grosbeaks Cardinalidae

Blue Grosbeak +564%Indigo Bunting +197%Northern Cardinal +114%Scarlet Tanager -44%Summer Tanager 12×

New World Vultures Cathartidae

Black Vulture +807%Turkey Vulture +560%

Plovers & Lapwings Charadriidae

Killdeer +98%

Pigeons & Doves Columbidae

Mourning Dove +183%Rock Pigeon +20%

Crows, Jays & Magpies Corvidae

American Crow +10%Blue Jay +4%Fish Crow +82%

Cuckoos, Roadrunners & Anis Cuculidae

Black-billed Cuckoo -57%Yellow-billed Cuckoo +152%

Falcons & Caracaras Falconidae

American Kestrel -76%

Finches Fringillidae

American Goldfinch +142%House Finch 29×

Swallows & Martins Hirundinidae

Bank Swallow +10%Barn Swallow +96%Northern Rough-winged Swallow -60%Purple Martin +962%Tree Swallow +729%

Blackbirds & Orioles Icteridae

Baltimore Oriole -76%Boat-tailed Grackle +14%Brown-headed Cowbird +374%Common Grackle -54%Eastern Meadowlark -94%Orchard Oriole +224%Red-winged Blackbird -21%

Yellow-breasted Chat Icteriidae

Yellow-breasted Chat -23%

Gulls, Terns & Skimmers Laridae

Black Skimmer +184%Common Tern -90%Forster's Tern 37×Great Black-backed Gull -67%Herring Gull -77%Laughing Gull +20%Least Tern -88%Ring-billed Gull -66%

Mockingbirds & Thrashers Mimidae

Brown Thrasher +31%Gray Catbird +24%Northern Mockingbird -3%

New World Quail Odontophoridae

Northern Bobwhite -95%

Osprey Pandionidae

Osprey +800%

Chickadees & Titmice Paridae

Carolina Chickadee +414%Tufted Titmouse +97%

Wood-Warblers Parulidae

American Redstart -57%Black-and-white Warbler -44%Common Yellowthroat +72%Hooded Warbler -24%Kentucky Warbler -80%Louisiana Waterthrush -1%Ovenbird +188%Pine Warbler +439%Prairie Warbler -63%Prothonotary Warbler +297%Worm-eating Warbler +442%Yellow Warbler -11%Yellow-throated Warbler +107%

New World Sparrows Passerellidae

Chipping Sparrow +49%Eastern Towhee -84%Field Sparrow -54%Grasshopper Sparrow +129%Seaside Sparrow +742%Song Sparrow -14%Swamp Sparrow +7%Vesper Sparrow -81%

Old World Sparrows Passeridae

House Sparrow -81%

Cormorants Phalacrocoracidae

Double-crested Cormorant +80%

Pheasants, Grouse & Turkeys Phasianidae

Ring-necked Pheasant -64%Wild Turkey 11×

Woodpeckers Picidae

Downy Woodpecker +169%Hairy Woodpecker +314%Pileated Woodpecker 42×Red-bellied Woodpecker +134%Red-headed Woodpecker +324%

Gnatcatchers Polioptilidae

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 15×

Rails, Gallinules & Coots Rallidae

Clapper Rail +547%

Avocets & Stilts Recurvirostridae

Black-necked Stilt +9%

Sandpipers & Allies Scolopacidae

Willet +15%

Nuthatches Sittidae

Brown-headed Nuthatch +428%White-breasted Nuthatch +608%

Owls Strigidae

Barred Owl +173%Great Horned Owl +88%

Starlings & Mynas Sturnidae

European Starling +20%

Ibises & Spoonbills Threskiornithidae

Glossy Ibis +468%

Hummingbirds Trochilidae

Ruby-throated Hummingbird +188%

Wrens Troglodytidae

Carolina Wren 13×Marsh Wren +248%Northern House Wren +11%

Thrushes Turdidae

American Robin +38%Eastern Bluebird 24×Wood Thrush -12%

Tyrant Flycatchers Tyrannidae

Acadian Flycatcher +208%Eastern Kingbird +45%Eastern Phoebe -61%Eastern Wood-Pewee +93%Great Crested Flycatcher +170%Willow Flycatcher +63%

Vireos Vireonidae

Red-eyed Vireo +58%Warbling Vireo -41%White-eyed Vireo +31%Yellow-throated Vireo -62%

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