Survival by Degrees: 389 Species on the Brink

Two-thirds of North American birds are at risk of extinction from global temperature rise and what you can do to help.

Allen's Hummingbird is a climate endangered bird Photo: Barry Schirm

As the climate changes, so will the places birds need.

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. See how climate change will impact California's birds.

The results are clear: Birds will be forced to relocate to find favorable homes. And they may not survive. 

Climate change is a serious threat to California birds. Highly and moderately vulnerable birds may lose more than half of their current range—the geographic area where they live—as they are forced to search for suitable habitat and climate conditions elsewhere. The birds that nest or spend the winter in your area are most vulnerable across their entire range. Some birds may lose range outside of your state, making the protection of their current habitat in your area even more important. 

Highly vulnerable birds include iconic California birds such as the California Quail, Allen’s Hummingbird, Nuttall's Woodpecker, Yellow-billed Magpie, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cassin's Kingbird, Bushtit, Acorn Woodpecker, and many others. These are birds that all of us know well from our backyards and from our own experiences in California’s beautiful outdoors. 

Audubon California is addressing this challenge by protecting the habitats that we know birds will need now and into the future, and doing what we can to lessen the severity of global warming. We’ll do this work with a variety of partners on the ground and in the halls of the State Capitol and Washington, D.C. But we won’t be able to rise to this challenge without the involvement of California residents who care about birds. We need people not only to join us in this important work, but to also raise their voices to call for meaningful policy and legislative action on climate. TAKE ACTION>>

New Audubon Science: Two-Thirds of North American Birds at Risk of Extinction Due to Climate Change
Audublog

New Audubon Science: Two-Thirds of North American Birds at Risk of Extinction Due to Climate Change

Enter your zip code into Audubon’s Birds and Climate Visualizer and it will show you how climate change will impact your birds and your community and includes ways you can help.

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What is Audubon California Doing about Climate Change?
Audublog

What is Audubon California Doing about Climate Change?

Summary of Audubon California’s programs that contribute to abating the impacts of climate change or increasing the climate resiliency of our priority California habitats and birds.

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Birds and Climate Visualizer
Global Warming

Climate Visualizer

See how your backyard birds will be impacted by climate change.

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Seabird “Preyscapes” in the Age of Climate Change
Seas & Shores

Seabird “Preyscapes” in the Age of Climate Change

How breeding seabirds respond to climate-driven changes in their food sources

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New Legislation Taps into Coasts’ Potential to Store Carbon Pollution
Audublog

New Legislation Taps into Coasts’ Potential to Store Carbon Pollution

Audubon California supports the introduction of the Blue Carbon for Our Planet Act

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Black Oystercatcher
Global Warming

Black Oystercatcher

Black Oystercatchers face an uncertain future in a changing climate.

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Allen's Hummingbird and Climate Change
Birds

Allen's Hummingbird

The Allen's Hummingbird is one of California's most popular birds.

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Yellow-billed Magpie
Birds

Yellow-billed Magpie

The Yellow-billed Magpie could lose a large part of its range unless we address global warming.

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Long-billed Curlew and global warming
Birds

Long-billed Curlew

The Long-billed Curlew is North America's largest shorebird.

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Sonoma Creek enhancement
Sonoma Creek restoration

Sonoma Creek restoration

Audubon California and its partners are bringing back 400-acres of wetland habitat in San Pablo Bay for the benefit of a variety of birds, including the endangered Ridgeway's Rail.

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Protecting the Western Snowy Plover

Protecting the Western Snowy Plover

This site is devoted to the protection and recovery of the Western Snowy Plover, a small, rare, and threatened shorebird that makes its home on certain beaches on the Pacific coast.

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Recent News

Passage of SB 100 is a major victory for birds and people
Global Warming

Passage of SB 100 is a major victory for birds and people

— Legislation will help secure a future for 170 California bird species under threat from climate change.
Audubon California reiterates support for Senate Bill 100
Global Warming

Audubon California reiterates support for Senate Bill 100

— Legislation will help secure a future for 170 California bird species under threat from climate change.
Trump Administration Plan to Reverse Progress on Car Fuel Standards a Huge Mistake
Press Center

Trump Administration Plan to Reverse Progress on Car Fuel Standards a Huge Mistake

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Toward a renewable future
Audublog

Toward a renewable future

Bill that puts California on the path to a renewable future passes key Assembly Committee vote

Study shows that sea level rise threatens West Coast marshes

A new study shows that sea-level rise driven by climate change could swallow up many of the Pacific Coast's most important marshes in the next hundred years. But researchers say there's still time to do something about it. Audubon California is working hard to protect many of these areas, supporting Measure AA in the San Francisco Bay and restoring vital marshes in Sonoma Creek.

SB 100 sets target of 100% clean renewable energy by 2045
Global Warming

SB 100 sets target of 100% clean renewable energy by 2045

Earlier this year, California Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de León, introduced another progressive bill that would put California on the path to 100% clean renewable energy by 2045.

Audubon California supports Assembly Bills 398 and 617
Global Warming

Audubon California supports Assembly Bills 398 and 617

With the Trump Administration completely abandoning any effort to address the climate change crisis, the State of California must lead on this vital issue to both birds and people.

Effort to reauthorize cap-and-trade suffers a blow, but hope remains
Global Warming

Effort to reauthorize cap-and-trade suffers a blow, but hope remains

Lawmakers seem eager to find another way to renew state's landmark climate program.

Audubon California statement following failure of Assembly Bill 378 in State Assembly
Press Center

Audubon California statement following failure of Assembly Bill 378 in State Assembly

— Audubon California is extremely disappointed that the California Assembly has failed to pass Assembly Bill 378 to extend California’s leadership in climate policy.
Audubon condemns Trump's decision to pull out of Paris Agreement
Global Warming

Audubon condemns Trump's decision to pull out of Paris Agreement

Audubon President David Yarnold calls move "an abdication of American leadership in the fight against the biggest threat facing people and birds."