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In this issue: Saving Piping Plovers, Nests for Burrowing Owls, and Protecting Vital Wetlands

                                                               

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Wingspan Newsletter | August 2025

A Great Rebound for Great Lakes Piping Plovers After 40 years of dedicated conservation efforts, the growing population of Great Lakes Piping Plovers—a record 88 pairs, up from a low of just 12—is returning to long-abandoned nesting territory. Thanks to a broad coalition of conservation partners, there's hope yet on the road to delisting the Piping Plover from the Endangered Species list. Keep reading for more on the ongoing recovery efforts to save Great Lakes Piping Plovers.

The Great Lakes Piping Plover Conservation Team outfits every plover they find with a unique combination of leg bands to help identify individual birds. Photo: Steve Jessmore

We Built Artificial Burrows for Burrowing Owls. Will They Dig It? Declining Burrowing Owl populations have been attributed to habitat loss and declines in the burrowing mammals that dig the burrows the owls depend on for nesting. To support and encourage new nesting at our Edward L. & Charles F. Gillmor Sanctuary near the Great Salt Lake, we have been hard at work building new homes for the owls. Learn more about our efforts to provide more nesting habitat for Burrowing Owls.

Burrowing Owl on Antelope Island at Great Salt Lake. Photo: Quinn Diaz/Pitta Tours

Your Support Powers Our Work This work, and all of our work on behalf of birds, is only possible with the steadfast support of caring bird lovers like you. Please consider giving a gift to help give birds a brighter future. Donate now

Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Photo: Ryan Leimbach/Audubon Photography Awards

Our New Partnership to Protect Albuquerque's Wetlands The Rio Grande ecosystem corridor has lost close to 90% of its wetlands, with more and more of these critical areas drying every year due to worsening water shortages. That's why we recently partnered with the City of Albuquerque's Open Space Division and Bernalillo County Open Space to provide water to two publicly revered wetlands in the Albuquerque area. Read on for more on our partnership to protect water for wetland-dependent species like Summer Tanagers.

Summer Tanager. Photo: Andy Long/Audubon Photography Awards

Protect the Science That Protects Birds Two long-standing U.S. Geological Survey programs—the Bird Banding Laboratory (BBL) and the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS)—are foundational to bird conservation in the United States. These initiatives have collected vital data that track bird migration, monitor population trends, and guide science-based decisions that protect both wildlife and people. But now, these programs are at risk of being cut. More than 21,500 people have asked their members of Congress to keep the Breeding Bird Survey and Breeding Bird Lab in the federal budget, so we can continue to protect birds and people. If you haven't already, please send your own letter today. Take action

Audubon Delta Director of Conservation Science, Dr. Erik Johnson, Ph.D., bands a Northern Cardinal female during the St. Bernard Bird Festival in Louisiana. Photo: Sydney Walsh/Audubon

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