Cool new birding tool: The State of North America's Birds 2016, a first of its kind

Days after the conclusion of another successful Biggest Week in American Birding comes the release of a cool report that's a first of its kind: The State of North America's Birds 2016.

Published by the North American Bird Conservation Initiative, it's an easy-to-understand, nifty interactive research tool for bird lovers in the Great Lakes region and the rest of North America.

It's organized by the continent's major habitats - oceans, coasts, boreal forest, tropical forests, temperature forests, grasslands, and wetlands - and has animated maps, based on NASA remote sensing data, that help you visualize how some species migrate between northern Canada and southern Mexico.

The images are shown on a week-by-week basis for seven birds. For example, you can see how the Magnolia Warbler and the Yellow-rumped Warbler migrate across the Great Lakes and other parts of the continent. The maps also provide information about abundance and distribution of those species.

This Yellow-rumped Warbler was photographed in Ottawa County's Magee Marsh in April, 2015. THE BLADE/ANDY MORRISON

In the Great Lakes region, wetlands are the primary type of habitat discussed. The report said that healthy populations of ducks and other waterfowl "show what our countries can accomplish when we work together on bird conservation," while also warning that wetlands "are being drained for agriculture and development, polluted by pesticides and invasive species, and lost to climate change."

The report asserts that more than a third of all North American bird species are in urgent need of habitat protection and enhancement. It is based on a continent-wide assessment of 1,154 native bird species and involved efforts of thousands of citizens and scientists across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

"Tens of thousands of Canadians, Americans, and Mexicans contributed bird sightings to help produce a continent-wide assessment of North America's birds," John W. Fitzpatrick, Cornell Lab of Ornithology executive director, said.

He described birds as "sensitive barometers of environmental health."

For more information, go to stateofthebirds.org.

The North American Bird Conservation Initiative was created by the continent's three countries in 1999 "to recognize birds as an international “natural economic resource.” Its report was released simultaneously Wednesday at the Canadian Embassy in Washington and the Museum of Nature in Ottawa to help mark International Migratory Bird Day.

One of its key partners is the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, which represents state agency members in the United States on Capitol Hill and North America fish and wildlife agencies in general.