A sold-out regional bird conservation symposium was held at the Audubon Nature Center and Aquarium on Saturday, Jan. 28. It was the first inaugural “Birds Across New England: The Audubon Regional Conservation Symposium” and the premise was simple: the more people know, the more they can do to help our birds.  

Led by Audubon Director of Avian Research Dr. Charles Clarkson, over 70 attendees joined 22 scientists from across New England as research was presented and region-wide comprehensive conservation plans were developed to understand and address why bird populations are experiencing long-term declines. 

Audubon also unveiled its first comprehensive “State of Our Birds” Report at the event, offering a full accounting of species across Audubon Society of Rhode Island’s wildlife refuges and providing conservation recommendations for specific bird populations and habitats. Armed with the knowledge from the new Report, Audubon will begin a monitoring and management scheme to reverse the declining trends in our birds.

“Conservation is a lengthy process,” said Clarkson. “Stopping the decline is not going to happen overnight. But we need to get the message out now. It’s important to engage the public, not just the conservation community. The hope is that the more people that become aware of the loss of our birds, the more we can act together. Our collective actions and choices can make a real difference.”

To view the “State of Our Birds” report, visit asri.org/StateOfOurBirds