Neighborhood Bird Project Report: Fewer and Fewer

Brant / Matthew Leaman / Audubon Photography Awards

In 1994, a small group of volunteers with Seattle Audubon (now Birds Connect Seattle) began conducting standardized bird surveys in Seattle-area green spaces. Their “Neighborhood Bird Project” (NBP) has since grown into one of the longest-running urban bird monitoring efforts in history.

For more than 30 years, hundreds of community scientists have conducted thousands of surveys, building a unique dataset on the bird communities at each survey site. We recently released the report Fewer and Fewer: Declining diversity and abundance in two decades of community science bird counts at Seattle green spaces to present findings from an analysis of NBP data collected at eight sites from 2005 to 2023. The results suggest troubling declines in species richness and average bird counts.

A Habitat Near You

Each survey is led by an experienced birder trained in the NBP protocol. Upon arriving at a survey station, participants pause quietly for at least one minute, allowing birds to settle before observations begin. They then record every bird seen, heard, or flying overhead within a 50-meter radius during a five-minute count.

The study area includes 21 survey loops across eight sites, with notable locations such as Carkeek Park, Discovery Park, and Seward Park, among others.

Key Findings

Species richness declined 18%. We estimate that species richness, the total number of species present across sites, fell from 141 species in 2005 to 118 in 2023.

Average bird counts declined by 21%. The number of birds observed per survey decreased across most sites, with six of eight showing overall declines. Some of the steepest declines occurred at major parks such as Discovery Park, Magnuson Park, and Washington Park Arboretum. A majority of species showed declining trends.

Counts declined for 58% of assessed species from diverse bird groups. The steepest declines were observed among shorebirds, blackbirds, swallows, kinglets, Band-tailed Pigeon, and Bushtit. Our findings are broadly consistent with continental and regional trends, increasing confidence that the observed patterns reflect real ecological signals rather than methodological artifacts.

Larger group sizes were linked to steeper declines. Species that formed larger groups early in the study period, were more likely to decline. A tenfold increase in group size was associated with an additional 3% decline in counts.

Climate change increases risk for most species. Comparing NBP results with climate vulnerability assessments from the National Audubon Society suggest that climate impacts are likely to exacerbate existing declines and threaten currently stable species.

A call to action. Taken together, these findings suggest that Seattle’s bird communities are in trouble. While no single dataset is without limitations, the consistency of these results, alongside regional and continental trends, points to the need for immediate action. See our blog for ten ways we can all help birds. 

The Report in the News

• “Seattle sees notable decline in bird counts as new report warns of urban biodiversity loss” Komo News 4
• Christine Clarridge “Seattle park bird counts fell 21% in 19 years, report finds” Axios Seattle
• Emily Tran “Seattle Parks Go Quiet as Bird Counts Crater 21 Percent” hoodline Seattle
• Podcast: Seattle Now with Patricia Murphy. In Seattle, bird counts and species diversity are declining