American Bird Conservancy

Last updated
American Bird Conservancy
Founded1994
Type501(c)(3) Non-profit Organization
FocusConserving wild birds and their habitats throughout the Americas.
Location
Area served
Western Hemisphere
Key people
Michael J. Parr, President
Revenue
$13.8 million in 2018 [1]
Website ABCbirds.org

American Bird Conservancy (ABC) is a non-profit membership organization with the mission of conserving wild birds and their habitats throughout the Americas. [2] [3]

Contents

ABC is the second BirdLife International partner in the United States and works in cooperation with other groups and agencies, including The Bird Conservation Alliance, Partners in Flight, and the North American Bird Conservation Initiative. [4]

A significant portion of ABC's revenue comes from the oil industry. [5] The ABC has a track record of opposing wind power projects. [5]

Programs and projects

Latin America

In Latin America American Bird Conservancy works with partner groups such as Fundación ProAves to purchase land that protects endangered bird habitat. [6] They are also working with partner organizations to reduce the conversion of coffee farms that offer habitat to the cerulean warbler, by helping growers market premium beans as cerulean warbler-friendly. In Colombia they have helped to protect wintering bird habitat by partnering with Fundación ProAves to help create the first preserve dedicated to a single U.S. migrant, the Cerulean Warbler Bird Reserve. [7] Also in Colombia, they helped fund an expedition in 2010 that discovered two nesting colonies of the endangered Baudó oropendola, one of the rarest birds in the world with less than a dozen known birds before the discovery. [8]

United States

Several organizations, including the American Bird Conservancy and the United States Geological Survey, were commissioned by the U. S. Federal Government to study the US State of Birds in 2007. They found that 800 species of birds in the U.S. were "endangered, threatened or in significant decline", with more birds threatened in the state of Hawaii than any other region. The study found that 39% of ocean birds were declining in population. They also learned that conservation efforts are very effective at helping bird populations to recover, with positive increases in some wetland bird species due to wetland conservation. [9]

In the U.S., they are trying to stop mountaintop mining in the Appalachias in order to protect vital breeding habitat. [7] In 1996, after American Bird Conservancy threatened to sue the U.S. Navy over the San Clemente loggerhead shrike (Lanius ludovicicanus mearnsi) whose habitat was formerly used by the Navy for bombardment training, the Navy agreed to take steps to protect the species and its habitat. [10]

Cats Indoors is a public education campaign by American Bird Conservancy to encourage control of cats in order to protect birds from predation by cats. The objective of the Conservancy's campaign is that all domestic cats should be contained or leashed when outdoors or kept indoors. [11]

The ABC is a leading opponent of wind power in the United States. While the Audubon Society and Sierra Club have been supportive of project like Icebreaker Wind in Lake Erie, ABC has opposed not only construction but also bird observation studies. Its estimates for the impact of wind power on birds are substantially higher than other studies. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aquatic warbler</span> Species of bird

The aquatic warbler is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It breeds in temperate eastern Europe and western Asia, with an estimated population of 11,000-15,000 pairs. It is migratory, wintering in west Africa. After many years of uncertainty, the wintering grounds of much of the European population were finally discovered in Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary, Senegal, with between 5,000 and 10,000 birds present at this single site. Its south-westerly migration route means that it is regular on passage as far west as Great Britain and Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden-winged warbler</span> Species of bird

The golden-winged warbler is a New World warbler. It breeds in southeastern and south-central Canada and in the Appalachian Mountains in northeastern to north-central United States. The majority (~70%) of the global population breeds in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Manitoba. Golden-winged warbler populations are slowly expanding northwards, but are generally declining across its range, most likely as a result of habitat loss and competition/interbreeding with the very closely related blue-winged warbler, Vermivora cyanoptera. Populations are now restricted to two regions: the Great Lakes and the Appalachian Mountains. The Appalachian population has declined 98% since the 1960s and is significantly imperiled. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been petitioned to list the species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and is currently reviewing all information after issuing a positive finding. Upon review, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found that the petition to list the species as endangered or threatened presents "substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that listing the golden-winged warbler may be warranted."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cerulean warbler</span> Species of bird

The cerulean warbler is a small songbird in the family Parulidae. It is a long-distance migrant, breeding in eastern North American hardwood forests. In the non-breeding season, it winters on the eastern slope of the Andes in South America, preferring subtropical forests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canada warbler</span> Species of bird

The Canada warbler is a small boreal songbird of the New World warbler family (Parulidae). It summers in Canada and northeastern United States and winters in northern South America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elfin woods warbler</span> Small bird of the New World warbler family endemic to Puerto Rico

The elfin woods warbler is a species of bird endemic to Puerto Rico, where it is local and uncommon. Discovered in 1968 and described in 1972, it is the most recently described New World warbler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-eared parrot</span> Species of bird

The yellow-eared parrot is a vulnerable parrot found in the Andes of Colombia. It was thought to be extinct up until April 1999, when a group of researchers that were sponsored by ABC and Fundación Loro Parque, discovered a total of 81 individuals in the Colombian Andes. It is currently enlisted as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. Its current population trend is increasing, in part due to conservation measures implemented to protect the existing populations of the species. It is closely associated with the wax palm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bird conservation</span> Field in the science of conservation biology related to threatened birds

Bird conservation is a field in the science of conservation biology related to threatened birds. Humans have had a profound effect on many bird species. Over one hundred species have gone extinct in historical times, although the most dramatic human-caused extinctions occurred in the Pacific Ocean as humans colonised the islands of Melanesia, Polynesia and Micronesia, during which an estimated 750–1,800 species of birds became extinct. According to Worldwatch Institute, many bird populations are currently declining worldwide, with 1,200 species facing extinction in the next century. The biggest cited reason surrounds habitat loss. Other threats include overhunting, accidental mortality due to structural collisions, long-line fishing bycatch, pollution, competition and predation by pet cats, oil spills and pesticide use and climate change. Governments, along with numerous conservation charities, work to protect birds in various ways, including legislation, preserving and restoring bird habitat, and establishing captive populations for reintroductions.

Fundación ProAves is a nonprofit environmental organization in Colombia established in 1998. Its primary aims are to protects birds of conservation concern and their habitats across Colombia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Niceforo's wren</span> Species of bird

Niceforo's wren is a species of bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is endemic to Colombia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rainforest Trust</span> Nonprofit environmental organization

Rainforest Trust is a US-based nonprofit environmental organization focused on the purchase and protection of tropical lands to strategically conserve threatened species. Founded in 1988, Rainforest Trust was formerly known as World Parks Endowment. In 2006, then World Parks Endowment affiliated itself with World Land Trust, a UK-based nonprofit environmental organization, and became World Land Trust-US, as both organizations were dedicated to minimizing their costs in order to allow donated funds to flow to habitat conservation projects on the ground. On September 16, 2013, because of diverging modus operandi, and as part of celebrating the organization's 25th anniversary, the World Land Trust-US changed its name to Rainforest Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Happy Valley Forest</span>

Happy Valley Forest is a 6.48 square kilometre provincially significant ecological area, classified as an Area of Natural and Scientific Interest by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. It consists of an upland forest on steeply rolling topography, various wooded swamps, and minor wetland areas. A few small kettle ponds are also present.

Mountain Lake Wilderness is a U.S. Wilderness Area in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. The wilderness area is located next to privately owned Mountain Lake, and consists of 8,314 acres (3,365 ha) in Virginia and 2,721 acres (1,101 ha) in West Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge</span> Protected area of Louisiana, United States

Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge was established on October 27, 2000, as the 526th refuge in the United States National Wildlife Refuge System. It is located near the town of St. Francisville, Louisiana, which is 30 miles (48 km) north of Baton Rouge. The refuge was established to conserve, restore, and manage native forested wetland habitats for migratory birds, aquatic resources, and endangered and threatened plants and animals. Additionally, it was created to encourage the use of volunteers and facilitate partnerships among the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, local communities, and conservation organizations to promote public awareness of resources of the refuge and the National Wildlife Refuge System.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kern River Preserve</span>

The Audubon Kern River Preserve is a riparian nature reserve owned by the National Audubon Society in the US state of California, near Weldon in Kern County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urrao antpitta</span> Species of bird

The Urrao antpitta, also known as Fenwick's antpitta, is a highly threatened species of bird found in the understory of cloud forest in the Andean highlands of Colombia. The first published description used the scientific name Grallaria fenwickorum ; shortly afterward, a second description using the name Grallaria urraoensis was published. The editors of the latter recognized that the name likely was a junior synonym, but others have questioned the validity of the first description, and various authorities, including the International Ornithological Congress, have adopted G. urraoensis. Antioquia antpitta has been suggested as an English-language name compromise.

Cerulean Warbler Bird Reserve, known in Spanish as Reserva Natural de las Aves Reinita Cielo Azul, is a nature reserve near Bucaramanga in central Colombia. The reserve is set among oak forest on the eastern slopes of the Magdalena River. It measures 545 acres (221 ha) and adjoins the Yariguíes National Park.

The Canadian Intermountain Joint Venture (CIJV) is a partnership of "government agencies, Aboriginal groups, nongovernmental organizations, industry, universities and landowners" for the implementation of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan in the inter-mountain areas of south and central British Columbia in Canada, and the south-western mountain region of Alberta. Its region of operation includes "all the mountain national parks", with boundaries delineated by the border with the United States to the south, the eastern crest of the Rocky Mountains to the east, the crest of the Coast Mountains to the west, and the boreal forest to the north. It is adjacent to the Intermountain West Joint Venture to the south, the Pacific Coast Joint Venture to the west, and the Prairie Habitat Joint Venture to the east.

The Pacific Birds Habitat Joint Venture (PBHJV), previously Pacific Coast Joint Venture is a partnership established in 1991 between governments, organizations, and conservation groups along the Pacific Coast of the United States and Canada, established to protect and enhance wetlands important to migratory birds, within the framework of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP). Participants include the provincial government of British Columbia in Canada, and the state governments of Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington in the United States. The venture's scope covers an area from San Francisco Bay to Alaska, west of the Coast Mountains, and it was the first joint venture of the NAWMP to have an international scope.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basai Wetland</span> Wetland in Haryana, India

Basai wetland, located in Basai village in Gurgaon tehsil in Gurgaon district in Haryana, India, is a flora and fauna rich water body. It is recognised as one of India's Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas and is of global conservation significance as it supports populations of several endangered, vulnerable, and threatened bird species. Basai wetlandis recognised globally as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by the BirdLife International housing 20,000 birds of over 280 species including migratory birds and endangered birds, has not yet been declared a protected wetland by the Government of Haryana.

References

  1. "American Bird Conservancy 2019 990", American Bird Conservancy.
  2. King, Alicia; Perkins, Perk; Curtis, Bruce (2008). Orvis Beginner's Guide to Birdwatching. Rockport Publishers. ISBN   978-1-58923-349-2.
  3. "American Bird Conservancy". Oakland Zoo. Archived from the original on 21 October 2010. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
  4. BirdLife International. "ABC joins the flock!". BirdLife. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
  5. 1 2 3 "Meet the rogue birding group blocking wind energy at every turn". Grist. 2021-10-20. Retrieved 2021-10-23.
  6. Black, Richard (2008-10-13). "Amphibians 'afloat and fighting'". BBC. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  7. 1 2 "Save America's Cerulean Warbler population". Global Action Atlas. National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on 18 September 2010. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  8. Weise, Elizabeth (2010-09-29). "Two colonies of a very rare Colombian bird discovered". USA Today Science Fair. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  9. "US birds in 'widespread decline'". BBC. 2009-03-20. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  10. LES LINE (1997-01-07). "Navy Moves to Aid Shrike Imperiled by Its Gunnery Practice". The New York Times . Retrieved 2008-07-10.
  11. JAMES GORMAN (2003-03-18). "Bird Lovers Hope to Keep Cats on a Very Short Leash". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-07-10.