14-07-2025
Birds in Tennessee and nationwide are vanishing — fast
One of Tennessee's state birds, the northern bobwhite quail, is in serious decline, and a new report suggests many other bird species are facing similar threats.
Why it matters: Birds are indicators of the overall health of their habitats and signal early warnings of broader trouble.
If habitats can't support birdlife, there could be problems for other wildlife — or even humans.
Zoom in: The northern bobwhite quail, Tennessee's game bird, was once abundant statewide. But a 2020 report found that the in-state population had declined more than 5% per year since 1966.
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency attributes the declines to a loss of farmland and other areas suitable for the ground-dwelling birds.
The state launched a "quail team" in 2017 to develop a plan to rebuild the bobwhite population. Efforts to restore a robust and self-sustaining quail population are ongoing.
The big picture: It's not just the quail. Researchers tracked species nationwide and found declines almost everywhere — even among birds once thought resilient, like waterfowl.
Roughly one-third of U.S. bird species — 229 in total — are now classified as high or moderate conservation concerns, per the North American Bird Conservation Initiative's 2025 State of the Birds report.
State of play: Dozens of bird species in Tennessee are vulnerable because of population declines. Forests have become quieter as several populations nosedived.
For instance, golden-winged warblers have become relatively scarce in Tennessee and are listed as a species "In Need of Management."
The Bachman's sparrow has all but disappeared from the state.
Between the lines: Urban sprawl is a factor in many cases. As new development encroaches on small family farms and wild areas, many once-common birds have become harder to find.
The intrigue: The State of Birds report notes that most forests in the Southeast are on private land, meaning that "voluntary and incentive-based programs" are essential to conservation.
