This report summarizes the data collected across the Audubon Society of Rhode Island’s 14 publicly accessible Refuges between the periods of 1 January 2022
and 1 November 2022.

Greater than 1/3 of all birds found breeding on Audubon Refuges are experiencing long-term population decline. Only 1/4 of all species are showing signs of long-term increases in population. Overwintering species are faring only slightly better, with just under 1/3 exhibiting declining population trends. Still, only 1/4 of populations are increasing over the long-term.

A total of 9 species were selected as “Responsibility Birds”. These species will receive additional monitoring to determine the steps Audubon can take to mitigate current population declines and promote local and regional population growth.

The Audubon “State of Our Birds Report Part II” begins to pull together the information needed to better understand when birds move across Audubon wildlife refuges, what they need to fuel their journeys, and how Audubon can best manage protected properties to bring their populations back.

The report also highlights the challenges that birds face through phenological mismatch: as climate change increases the unpredictability of weather events, birds that have timed their migratory movements over thousands of generations to coincide with gradual spring warming or fall senescence are finding themselves out-of-phase with the plant and insect communities they rely on. This phenological mismatch is leading to avian population declines, particularly with those species that undergo long-distance migration. Examples of these species that are commonly spotted in Rhode Island are the Gray Catbird, Ovenbird, Common Yellowthroat, American Goldfinch, and Wood Thrush.