Trends in coastal bird populations on Narragansett Bay reflect broader environmental trends: national, regional, and local. Large predatory birds such as ospreys benefited from the federal ban on DDT in 1972; over the past several decades, ospreys nesting in the Bay watershed have steadily increased. Over the same period, many migratory songbirds have declined throughout the Northeast, due to causes only partially understood, including suburbanization, deforestation of tropical habitats, acid rain and climate change (USFWS 2008, Frumhoff et al. 2007).
[osprey graph here]
Locally, some important coastal birds have benefited from land use changes. Beginning soon after the Second World War and continuing to the present day, the Navy has steadily reduced its presence on Narragansett Bay. As it abandoned operations on the Bay islands, these areas became important habitats for native birds. Many coastal birds are ground-nesters, vulnerable to predation from terrestrial mammals, such as raccoons, foxes and housecats. Smaller islands such as Rose Island off Newport and Gould Island in the Sakonnet River, with few predators, serve as a refuge for the birds’ reproduction. The State of Rhode Island, through its Open Space Grants and other programs, has preserved nearly 1600 acres of Bay island lands, ensuring the continued value of these habitats. Most of these preserved island lands, about 1400 acres in total, are managed by the Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, a collaboration between NOAA and DEM, which encompasses Patience, Hope, Dyer and much of Prudence Islands.
[Coastal bird graphs here. Waiting for updated data from Chris Raithel]
[Link to preserved lands map from Paul]