Marissa Jacobs explained that the Bucks County Audubon Society welcomes community involvement. This could be through their programs, volunteer opportunities, membership and donations.
Audubon scientists took advantage of 140 million observations, recorded by birders and scientists, to describe where 604 North American bird species live today—an area known as their “range.” They then used the latest climate models to project how each species’s range will shift as climate change and other human impacts advance across the continent. The results are clear: Up to two-thirds of North American birds are vulnerable to extinction due to climate change and will be forced to relocate to find favorable homes. And they may not survive. Audubon came to this conclusion after conducting an analysis of nine different climate threats on birds, including things such as water levels rising, urbanization, cropland expansion, false springs, etc. This study compared these nine different climate threats at different warming scenarios depending on our actions to control climate change, 1.5°C, 2°C and 3°C. By stabilizing carbon emissions and holding warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, 76 percent of vulnerable species will be better off, and nearly 150 species would no longer be vulnerable to extinction from climate change. This is explained in Audubon’s 2019 climate change report, ‘Survival By Degrees,’
The good news is that there are plenty of opportunities to protect birds from this existential threat, and Audubon members have been leading the way for years. You can advocate for the birds you love, make your yard or house bird friendly. In 2014, after the publication of Audubon's first climate change report, thousands of people asked how they could help make the world a better place for birds, and Climate Watch was born. Since 2016, Climate Watch volunteers have collected data which Audubon scientists are able to use to document in peer reviewed research that birds are responding to climate change and shifting their ranges. You can join us in this fight by observing birds in your area, using our specific protocol, and helping us learn about how birds are responding to the changing climate. Learn more below.