BirdAnalyst
State · BBS 2025 Release · 1966–2024

Minnesota Breeding Birds

238 species recorded across 92 survey routes, 1967 to 2024. Browse by family or guild below.

Minnesota 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 →

Black-crowned Night Heron has collapsed in Minnesota: down 95% on the route-weighted index since 1970.

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 Minnesota: up 66× on the route-weighted index since 1975.

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 →

Western Meadowlark has collapsed in Minnesota: down 93% on the route-weighted index since 1969.

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 Minnesota: up 19× 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 →

Cerulean Warbler has collapsed in Minnesota: down 88% on the route-weighted index since 1974.

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 →

Northern Parula has surged in Minnesota: up 13× on the route-weighted index since 1969.

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

-54%

Generalists

12 species
-53%

Grassland birds

15 species
-37%

Wetland birds

27 species
-32%

Birds of prey

16 species
-29%

Game birds

7 species
+15%

Shorebirds

6 species
+16%

Aerial insectivores

19 species
+28%

Forest birds

82 species
+142%

Waterfowl

18 species

Minnesota Bird Survey Routes

Browse Minnesota 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 Minnesota.

Hawks, Eagles & Kites Accipitridae

Bald Eagle 16×Broad-winged Hawk +78%Cooper's Hawk +55%Northern Harrier -64%Red-shouldered Hawk -70%Red-tailed Hawk +130%Sharp-shinned Hawk -74%Swainson's Hawk -20%

Larks Alaudidae

Horned Lark +178%

Kingfishers Alcedinidae

Belted Kingfisher -51%

Ducks, Geese & Waterfowl Anatidae

Blue-winged Teal -70%Canada Goose 66×Canvasback -73%Common Goldeneye +180%Common Merganser -16%Gadwall -29%Green-winged Teal -48%Hooded Merganser -52%Lesser Scaup -85%Mallard +107%Northern Pintail -78%Northern Shoveler -64%Red-breasted Merganser -27%Redhead -66%Ring-necked Duck +91%Ruddy Duck -38%Trumpeter Swan 43×Wood Duck +22%

Swifts Apodidae

Chimney Swift -71%

Herons, Egrets & Bitterns Ardeidae

American Bittern -74%Black-crowned Night Heron -95%Great Blue Heron -49%Great Egret -35%Green Heron -14%Least Bittern -35%

Waxwings Bombycillidae

Cedar Waxwing -3%

Nightjars & Nighthawks Caprimulgidae

Common Nighthawk -74%Eastern Whip-poor-will -15%

Cardinals & Grosbeaks Cardinalidae

Blue Grosbeak -19%Dickcissel -20%Indigo Bunting +6%Northern Cardinal +275%Rose-breasted Grosbeak +1%Scarlet Tanager -15%

New World Vultures Cathartidae

Turkey Vulture +316%

Treecreepers Certhiidae

Brown Creeper +704%

Plovers & Lapwings Charadriidae

Killdeer +30%

Pigeons & Doves Columbidae

Eurasian Collared-Dove 45×Mourning Dove -13%Rock Pigeon -22%

Crows, Jays & Magpies Corvidae

American Crow +11%Black-billed Magpie +135%Blue Jay +88%Canada Jay +35%Common Raven +724%

Cuckoos, Roadrunners & Anis Cuculidae

Black-billed Cuckoo -20%Yellow-billed Cuckoo -57%

Falcons & Caracaras Falconidae

American Kestrel -77%Merlin +216%

Finches Fringillidae

American Goldfinch +14%Evening Grosbeak -85%House Finch +258%Pine Siskin -23%Purple Finch -2%Red Crossbill -82%White-winged Crossbill -85%

Loons Gaviidae

Common Loon -10%

Cranes Gruidae

Sandhill Crane +327%

Swallows & Martins Hirundinidae

Bank Swallow -74%Barn Swallow -5%Cliff Swallow +292%Northern Rough-winged Swallow -51%Purple Martin -83%Tree Swallow +69%

Blackbirds & Orioles Icteridae

Baltimore Oriole -35%Bobolink -34%Brewer's Blackbird -69%Brown-headed Cowbird +71%Common Grackle -56%Eastern Meadowlark -50%Orchard Oriole +662%Red-winged Blackbird -15%Western Meadowlark -93%Yellow-headed Blackbird -63%

Shrikes Laniidae

Loggerhead Shrike -86%

Gulls, Terns & Skimmers Laridae

Black Tern -84%Caspian Tern -9%Forster's Tern +47%Franklin's Gull -85%Herring Gull -54%Ring-billed Gull +507%

Mockingbirds & Thrashers Mimidae

Brown Thrasher -54%Gray Catbird +22%

New World Quail Odontophoridae

Northern Bobwhite -34%

Osprey Pandionidae

Osprey +1%

Chickadees & Titmice Paridae

Black-capped Chickadee +367%Boreal Chickadee -31%Tufted Titmouse -54%

Wood-Warblers Parulidae

American Redstart +270%Bay-breasted Warbler -56%Black-and-white Warbler +530%Black-throated Blue Warbler +359%Black-throated Green Warbler +353%Blackburnian Warbler +204%Blue-winged Warbler +306%Canada Warbler +156%Cape May Warbler +719%Cerulean Warbler -88%Chestnut-sided Warbler +57%Common Yellowthroat +52%Connecticut Warbler -32%Golden-winged Warbler +185%Magnolia Warbler +343%Mourning Warbler +28%Nashville Warbler +105%Northern Parula 13×Northern Waterthrush +378%Ovenbird +129%Palm Warbler +71%Pine Warbler +487%Tennessee Warbler +18%Wilson's Warbler -20%Yellow Warbler +71%

New World Sparrows Passerellidae

Chipping Sparrow +48%Clay-colored Sparrow +2%Eastern Towhee +171%Field Sparrow -9%Grasshopper Sparrow -68%Henslow's Sparrow -61%Lark Sparrow +47%LeConte's Sparrow +170%Lincoln's Sparrow +696%Nelson's Sparrow -36%Savannah Sparrow -39%Song Sparrow -16%Swamp Sparrow +191%Vesper Sparrow -48%White-throated Sparrow +72%

Old World Sparrows Passeridae

House Sparrow -67%

Pelicans Pelecanidae

American White Pelican +316%

Cormorants Phalacrocoracidae

Double-crested Cormorant +241%

Pheasants, Grouse & Turkeys Phasianidae

Gray Partridge +10%Greater Prairie-Chicken -46%Ring-necked Pheasant +40%Ruffed Grouse +77%Sharp-tailed Grouse +124%Wild Turkey +726%

Woodpeckers Picidae

Black-backed Woodpecker -32%Downy Woodpecker +107%Hairy Woodpecker +300%Pileated Woodpecker +881%Red-bellied Woodpecker +970%Red-headed Woodpecker -88%Yellow-bellied Sapsucker +392%

Grebes Podicipedidae

Pied-billed Grebe +116%Red-necked Grebe +352%

Gnatcatchers Polioptilidae

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher +197%

Rails, Gallinules & Coots Rallidae

American Coot -35%Sora -62%Virginia Rail -41%Yellow Rail +5%

Kinglets Regulidae

Golden-crowned Kinglet +517%Ruby-crowned Kinglet +2%

Sandpipers & Allies Scolopacidae

American Woodcock -70%Marbled Godwit +434%Spotted Sandpiper -60%Upland Sandpiper +507%Wilson's Phalarope -77%Wilson's Snipe +160%

Nuthatches Sittidae

Red-breasted Nuthatch 19×White-breasted Nuthatch +496%

Owls Strigidae

Barred Owl +65%Great Gray Owl -42%Great Horned Owl -58%Short-eared Owl +16%

Starlings & Mynas Sturnidae

European Starling -70%

Hummingbirds Trochilidae

Ruby-throated Hummingbird +94%

Wrens Troglodytidae

Marsh Wren +204%Northern House Wren +76%Sedge Wren +22%Winter Wren +444%

Thrushes Turdidae

American Robin +24%Eastern Bluebird -26%Hermit Thrush +63%Swainson's Thrush +202%Veery +12%Wood Thrush +520%

Tyrant Flycatchers Tyrannidae

Alder Flycatcher +71%Eastern Kingbird -17%Eastern Phoebe -1%Eastern Wood-Pewee +64%Great Crested Flycatcher -39%Least Flycatcher +25%Olive-sided Flycatcher -31%Western Kingbird -63%Willow Flycatcher +125%Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 12×

Vireos Vireonidae

Blue-headed Vireo 11×Philadelphia Vireo -73%Red-eyed Vireo +89%Warbling Vireo +1%Yellow-throated Vireo +875%

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