Black-Crowned Night Herons Could Vanish From NYC in 11 Years, Study Finds
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jun 3
Black-Crowned Night Herons Could Vanish From NYC in 11 Years, Study Finds
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jun 3
Summary
A new study projects black-crowned night herons could disappear from New York City within 11 years, marking a sharp threat to one of the harbor’s signature wading birds.
Between 2000 and 2022, nesting wading birds in the New York-New Jersey Harbor fell 27%, driven largely by a steep decline in the harbor’s once-most-common black-crowned night heron.
Researchers said the cause remains unclear and called for more study, pointing to possible factors including water toxins, climate change, human disturbance and predators.
The warning fits a broader North American bird-loss trend: populations have dropped by about 3 billion since 1970, even in the Northeast’s largest heron and egret nesting region.