01/07/2026
The newly released San Francisco Bay State of the Birds report provides alarming new data demonstrating that Bay Area shorebirds have experienced a steep decline in their populations. The drop was most significant for medium-sized shorebirds such as the black-bellied plover and short-billed dowitcher, whose populations have plummeted by 87% in the central Bay Area just in the last twenty years.
“Unfortunately, it’s not a happy message,” said Matthew Reiter, a research director at Point Blue Conservation Science, which co-produced the report. “But it is what we’re seeing in the data.”
Scientists and wildlife experts interviewed by the San Francisco Chronicle say that large scale wetland restoration efforts are having a positive impact, but point to threatened development of the Newark Baylands as an example of continued sprawl into the bay shore, that destroys wildlife habitat and threatens shorebird recovery efforts.
From the article:
“Some construction continues to sprawl out to the bay shore. In Newark, a developer has proposed a low-density housing project next to a wetland. Environmental groups say the project could erode what’s left of the birds’ habitat and expose the buildings to sea level rise. Housing advocates argue the project is needed amid a crushing affordability crisis.
The Bay Area certainly needs more housing, Whitney Grover, director of conservation at the Golden Gate Bird Alliance, acknowledged, but she said cities should focus new development inside existing neighborhoods, not on environmentally sensitive sites. ‘Infill in already-human-dense areas is just the right thing to do,’ she added.”
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For years, the Citizens Committee to Complete the Refuge has worked with many partners, including Golden Gate Bird Alliance, Ohlone Audubon Society and Santa Clara Valley Bird Alliance, to permanently protect the Newark Baylands as part of the Don Edwards SF Bay National Wildlife Refuge. If you haven’t yet, make sure you have added your name in support of our campaign! https://savenewarkwetlands.org/
Read the full article in the San Francisco Chronicle:
https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/bird-population-wildlife-bay-area-21169393.php
The Bay Area’s bird species have seen steep declines in recent decades. Conservation funding cuts by the Trump administration could make the problem worse.
