Each map is a visual guide to where a particular bird species may find the climate conditions it needs to survive in the future. We call this the bird’s “climatic range.”
The colors indicate the season in which the bird may find suitable conditions— blue for winter, yellow for summer (breeding), and green for where they overlap (indicating their presence year-round).
The darker the shaded area, the more likely it is the bird species will find suitable climate conditions to survive there.
The outline of the approximate current range for each season remains fixed in each frame, allowing you to compare how the range will expand, contract, or shift in the future.
The first frame of the animation shows where the bird can find a suitable climate today (based on data from 2000). The next three frames predict where this bird’s suitable climate may shift in the future—one frame each for 2020, 2050, and 2080.
You can play or pause the animation with the orange button in the lower left, or select an individual frame to study by clicking on its year.
This powerful Arctic falcon flourishes in mainly open terrain where large prey—especially ptarmigans and seabirds—abound. The Gyrfalcon disperses south a bit, but not much, in winter; winter sightings even in the northern tier of U.S. states are uncommon. Audubon’s climate model predicts considerable shifting of climate space for Gyrfalcons in the future, and less than half of the present range remains stable. Additionally, many of the Gyrfalcon’s favored prey species are forecast to decline in the same region. As is so often the case with climate change, the most severe effects may be the indirect ones.
Explore more birds threatened by climate change around the country.
It's easier than you think to make a difference. Become an Audubon member today to help birds facing climate change.
