Wins Among the Waves: A Safer Summer for Birds

 In this issue: Coastal Birds Need Volunteers, PFAS and Birds, Protect Bird Science

                                                               

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Wingspan Newsletter | July 2025

How We Keep Shorebirds Safe: A Two-Part Solution Coastal birds like American Oystercatchers need peaceful beaches and healthy islands to nest, rest, and forage for food. Our new study finds that combining habitat restoration with on-the-ground coastal stewardship offers the best path forward. By managing both threats together, we can give shorebirds a real shot at survival—and even help their numbers grow. Read on to see how this dual approach helps birds thrive and ways you can get involved this summer.

American Oystercatcher and Black Skimmers. Photo: Bryan Putnam/Audubon Photography Awards

Are "Forever Chemicals" Making Birds (and People) Sick? North Carolina's winding Cape Fear River is a biodiversity stronghold, especially for birds like Brown Pelicans. But for nearly 40 years, the Fayetteville Works plant, a facility owned by DuPont until 2015, had been discharging a chemical compound called GenX into the waterway, which provides drinking water for half a million people and key habitat for nesting birds. Now, our scientists and partners are trying to figure out: Is the Cape Fear River making local birds and communities sick? Read on to learn how "forever chemicals," or PFAS, may be affecting the health of birds and people living along the waterway.

Brown Pelican. Photo: Madeline Gray

This is Your Support at Work The work you read about in this newsletter is only possible because of caring bird lovers like you. Thanks to your generosity, we can conserve and protect habitat that creates meaningful change for birds. Donate now

Baltimore Oriole. Photo: Sandra Rothenberg/Audubon Photography Awards

How Friends Like You Helped Save 600 Acres in Florida When a proposal threatened to trade away a vital portion of Florida's Guana River Wildlife Management Area for development, we mobilized immediately. More than 50,000 supporters spoke out to protect this irreplaceable habitat—submitting petitions, raising awareness, and standing up for birds and other wildlife. Thanks to this incredible grassroots response, 600 acres of conservation land were saved. Read on to see how people power made the difference.

Roseate Spoonbill. Photo: Barbara Houston/Audubon Photography Awards

Protect the Science That Protects Birds The Bird Banding Lab and Breeding Bird Survey are two essential science programs that help us understand birds. They reveal how our environment is changing, which species are declining, and where conservation action is most needed. But now, these programs are at risk of being cut. Tell Congress to keep the Breeding Bird Survey and Breeding Bird Lab in the federal budget, so we can continue to protect birds and people. Take action

Piping Plover. Photo: Shey Smith/Audubon Photography Awards

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