Learn about the impacts of climate change on boreal bird populations from AWI Senior Research Scientist, Dr. Michale Glennon in Hudson Hall 106 at SUNY Plattsburgh.

New York State’s Adirondack Park is a large, intact breeding ground for numerous migratory bird species, several of which are declining throughout their range. A unique component of the Adirondack avifauna is the birds inhabiting the boreal peatlands of the park. Climate change is now widely recognized as the pre-eminent threat to biodiversity in the 21stCentury. At the southern range extent for this ecosystem type and many of its avian inhabitants, the park is a valuable location from which to monitor changes in bird populations from a warming climate. Findings from long-term monitoring of boreal birds in the Adirondacks suggest that bird responses to climate change may be mediated by land use patterns, highlight the importance of a patchy habitat distribution, and raise important implications for potential conservation strategies in these habitats.