U.S. Duck Population Has Dropped 30% Since 2017, Study Says

The new report says at least 112 North American bird species have lost more than half their populations in the past 50 years.

WASHINGTON (AP) — At least 112 North American bird species have lost more than half their populations in the past 50 years, according to a new report published Thursday.

Among the birds showing the steepest declines are Allen’s hummingbirds, Florida scrub jays, golden-cheeked warblers, tricolored blackbirds and yellow-billed magpies.

“These are the very real consequences if we are unable to conserve and protect the crucial habitats that birds need,” said study co-author Mike Brasher, a senior scientist at the nonprofit Ducks Unlimited.

For several decades, waterfowl stood out as a conservation bright spot with duck populations growing nationwide even as many other groups of birds declined in the U.S. But that trend has reversed, the new data shows.

The total number of dabbling and diving ducks is down about 30% from 2017, said Brasher. Loss of grasslands habitat and a prolonged drought affecting the wetlands of the Great Plains’ prairie pothole region have taken a toll. Among all waterfowl, numbers are down 20% since 2014, the report found.