Best Of: Birding To Help Revitalize Conservation Efforts

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4.3 • 4.5K Ratings

🗓️ 30 December 2025

⏱️ 31 minutes

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Summary

Some of the best songs you can hear this spring aren't on the radio.

Hundreds of millions of birds make their annual migration back into North America in early March. Despite their return to our neighborhoods and backyards to wake us up bright and early, a new report reveals they're numbering fewer and fewer.

The 2025 State of the Birds report is a joint effort spearheaded by a coalition of science and conservation organizations. It found widespread population decline across nearly all habitats and that over one third of species require conservation help.

But it's not all bad news. The report also finds that an increased interest in birding has led to more volunteer data that helped shaped the report. What can we learn about our feathered friends and our environment while watching?

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for NPR and the following message come from Yarl and Pamela Mohn, thanking the people who make public radio great every day and also those who listen.
0:17.6	It's spring, which means you're probably hearing more of this.
0:26.6	Hundreds of millions of birds make their annual migration to North America starting in early March.
0:32.3	But even as many fly back into our neighborhoods to wake us up bright and early,
0:36.8	a new report reveals that bird
0:38.3	populations are on the decline. Populations are declining across nearly all habitats, and more than a
0:44.4	third of bird species need conservation help. That's according to the 2025 State of the Birds
0:50.0	report. It's a joint effort between a coalition of science and conservation organizations.
0:55.2	But it's not all bad news. An increased interest in birding is leading to more volunteer data,
1:00.8	and that helps shape the report. Spending more time with the birds is something many of you can
1:05.1	relate to. Hi, my name's Alicia, and I'm calling from Chicago. My name's Kate Scales from
1:10.4	Asheville, North Carolina. My name is Matt Rela Ford. I'm calling from Chicago. My name's Kate Scales from Asheville, North Carolina.
1:11.9	My name is Matt Rela Ford. I'm 39 years old and I've been into birding since I was eight years old,
1:18.1	starting with a white eagret that I saw in Ohio with a kid and most recently finally seeing looping cranes.
1:24.2	I began birding during the pandemic when everything was shut down. So my
1:30.4	friend and I would go out to the woods and walk around. And it was a very relaxing way to de-stress and
1:39.2	be in nature. I've been an avid backyard birder for many years. But last February I was able to take a trip to the Amazon and was overwhelmed by the incredible birds that I saw there.
1:53.2	Thanks to all the 1A birders for leaving those messages. We'll hear from more of you throughout our conversation.
1:58.9	What can we learn about the health of our environment
2:00.9	through our bird populations and how our community-led efforts helping bird conservation? We get
2:06.6	into it after the break. I'm Jen White. You're listening to the 1A podcast where we get to the
2:11.3	heart of the story. We'll be back in just a moment. Stay with us.
	...

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