Over 160 bird species recorded in the restored habitat at Sam Shine Foundation Preserve
by Wyatt Downey, Land Stewardship Assistant
Fog continues to blanket the wetlands, the sky still twinkles with stars, and my only company for now are the two great horned owls calling back and forth across the ridge. Over the horizon, the first rays of light are starting to poke through, and soon, the chorus of birds will begin to sing in full force. I’d call it a dream, but this is a moment I lived and now recall quite fondly.
During my time with Sycamore Land Trust, I have been fortunate enough to have spent many mornings in similar dreamscapes, but this scene in particular is that of a morning spent monitoring marsh birds in the restored wetlands of the Sam Shine Foundation Preserve. There is no feeling that compares to watching the world wake up as night transitions into morning, and I feel incredibly lucky to live in a time where it is still possible to witness such wonders. That being said, I recognize that there is a possible future where others may not have the chance to have such experiences.
A state-endangered marsh wren at the Sam Shine Foundation Preserve, photo by Wyatt Downey
Three billion birds throughout North America have been lost since 1970. This statistic, published by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in 2019, is one that echoes through my mind. For clarity, this statistic is not referencing losses that occur naturally; this is a net loss of over one-fourth of our bird populations in the last 50 years. The 2025 State of the Birds Report published by the same lab confirms that largely the same pattern of decline continues today, and even the most common birds are becoming increasingly less common. These declines have been rapid, but they are not sudden and their causes are known. Habitat loss, climate change, land-use changes, and other human-driven forces have been, and continue to be, leading drivers of these declines.
As habitats continue to be lost to development and agriculture, and as policies that offer protection to endangered species and their habitats are continually weakened, the alarm bells grow frighteningly louder. The sound may be deafening, but I urge you not to turn away from it. There is far too much at stake to let it be ignored, both for birds and for humans. If the observed trends of decline continue, not only do we risk the loss of intrinsically valuable species and their habitats, but we also risk the loss of the ecosystem services they provide. Birds provide integral services such as pollination, pest control, and nutrient cycling, and the habitats they rely upon also provide critical services ranging from carbon sequestration and storage, erosion control, water management and flood prevention, and more. Humans are far more reliant on these services than many may be aware of, not for comfort, but for survival.
Fortunately, not all hope is lost. Restoration and conservation efforts have been shown to have immensely positive effects in terms of enabling the recovery of bird populations and their habitats. Enabling recovery at the necessary scale requires immense work and dedication. The work entails identifying, protecting, and restoring critical habitat areas, and the dedication includes advocating for bird-friendly policies and supporting organizations that are actively working to reverse the trends of decline. Over the past two and a half years, I have been proud to work alongside Sycamore, an organization that recognizes this need for science-guided action, works tirelessly to steward the land in a manner that supports species in need, and is backed by the support of a wonderful community.
As part of the land stewardship team, I have had the opportunity to visit and work on several Sycamore properties as we strive to protect and restore critical habitat areas. Some of my duties have included typical forms of stewardship such as native plant and tree planting operations, invasive species control, and general site maintenance; however, most of my efforts have revolved around wildlife research initiatives. Sycamore monitors a variety of taxa including small mammals, reptiles and amphibians, birds, and even insects across several of our properties with the goal of ensuring that restoration and management efforts benefit wildlife communities. I have enjoyed conducting and participating in all of these research efforts, but I continue to find I am most passionate about our bird monitoring efforts.
In addition to marsh bird monitoring, I have participated in, initiated, and conducted several other projects designed to provide data about how bird communities utilize Sycamore’s properties and respond to restoration efforts. One of the earliest projects I assisted with was the installation of the motus tower at the Sam Shine Foundation Preserve. This tower detects migratory species that have been equipped with motus tags and plays an important role in helping to track their movement. Other projects include bird box monitoring, the Chasing Melody Project, nocturnal flight call analyses, formal point counts, and informal observations. All of these projects are designed to gather data about the role our properties play for bird communities, and they provide insight into nesting success rates, habitat preferences, how the property is used during migration, abundance, and more. Two and a half years of monitoring and data collection is likely not enough to form the basis of any scientific claims; however, many of the observations I have made so far suggest that our efforts are creating real differences for birds at the local level.
The Sam Shine Foundation Preserve appears to offer the strongest testament to our bird-related successes. This site is home to two large-scale restoration projects including constructed wetlands and an ongoing grassland restoration project. With less than 3.5% of the original wetland habitats and less than 1% of historic grassland remaining in Indiana, these projects provide two habitat types that we, and birds, are critically short on. By monitoring bird communities on this property, we have been able to determine that, at the time of writing this, these restoration efforts have helped to support 161 different bird species since the completion of the constructed wetlands. Among the recorded species are 12 species listed as being of “special conservation concern” and 8 state-endangered species which speaks to this property’s ability to support some of our most vulnerable populations while simultaneously supporting a vast array of more common species.
Shine, indeed, tells a wonderful story of recovery, but the successes are not limited to this property. During the early summer of 2025, I conducted point counts on five Sycamore properties including Shine, the Laura Hare Nature Preserve at Downey Hill, Beanblossom Bottoms, the Amy Weingartner-Branigan Peninsula, and Hoot Woods. These properties represent a diversity of protected, restored, and managed habitat types, and each of them support vibrant bird communities. Not only have state-endangered species and species of special concern been observed on each of these properties, but I have also recorded the presence of 13 “tipping point” species across each of them. A “tipping point” species is a species identified by the Road to Recovery initiative, a collaborative effort that was formed in response to Cornell’s finding of immense bird population declines, that has lost over 50% of its population over the past 50 years. These species represent those that are in the direst need of conservation action.
The success of Sycamore’s restoration and stewardship efforts in terms of supporting bird populations could not have been achieved without the support of our community and members, so for that, I thank you. Sycamore, with help from its community, is already making a real difference, but in order to truly combat these declines, there is a need for collective action. For those of you that have supported our efforts, I ask that you continue to do so, and I encourage those who have been pondering how you can help to join us in our efforts. Your contribution does not necessarily have to be financial in nature; you can help us reverse bird declines in several ways. These include, but are not limited to, planting native gardens that restore ecological function to your lawns and increase habitat connectivity, joining us on educational outings to learn more about the threats facing bird communities and their needs, and reaching out to your neighbors to share what you’ve learned.
