MBCP Conserves Birds and Strengthens Communities
The Maryland Bird Conservation Partnership (MBCP) connects birds, habitats, and people to create conditions for birds to flourish in Maryland. MBCP partners with other leading wildlife conservation organizations to implement bird conservation programs. Through Bird City Maryland, MBCP recognizes and encourages communities that implement sound bird conservation practices. Through its Farmland Raptor Program, MBCP works with landowners to install and monitor nest boxes for barn owls and American kestrels. MBCP engages volunteers to collect data on the status of birds across the state of Maryland, and then we analyze and publish that data to help the conservation community make sound decisions about next steps in bird conservation. MBCP brings people together to give birds more opportunities to thrive in Maryland.
Maryland’s birdlife
Map of the state of Maryland’s level III ecoregions
Maryland’s birdlife is a treasure worth saving. Per square mile, the small state of Maryland represents a tremendous diversity of ecosystems—and birds! From the Western mountains to the Eastern marshes, 300 species of birds are regularly observed in Maryland throughout the year. Over the years, Maryland’s habitats have also attracted over 150 species rare to this region. Yet each year in Maryland, as in all of North America, we are seeing fewer and fewer birds. The good news is that scientists are identifying potential avenues for recovery. Maryland Bird Conservation Partnership is building on the science to save birds and the habitats that support them.
Science Drives MBCP’s conservation work
In less than a single lifetime, North America lost more than one in four of its birds. In 2019, a team of researchers from the United States and Canada published their finding that since 1970, across every ecosystem, 2.9 billion adult breeding birds were lost. In May 2025, a research team from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology published new findings indicating that the decline in bird populations is getting worse. Both studies were published in Science, the world’s leading scientific journal.
Although the 2025 scientific findings are discouraging, they also offer a potential window of opportunity for recovery of bird populations. These findings and ongoing research, community science, and community engagement are mobilizing Maryland Bird Conservation Partnership and our conservation partners to continue the work of bird conservation. We have the collective expertise and experience to stabilize declining bird populations in Maryland.
Together MBPC and its partners are
creating conditions for birds to flourish in Maryland’s diverse landscapes.
providing thought leadership and developing data about Maryland birds and habitats to support conservation decision making.
conducting outreach to people who care about Maryland’s birds and engaging them in Maryland’s bird conservation opportunities.
Join MBCP to conserve birds and the habitats that support them.
How to Support MBCP’s Work
MBCP’s Flagship Programs
A Barn Owl nest box installed by the Maryland Farmland Raptor Program at the top of a silo. Photo by Tom Versichelli.
Maryland Farmland Raptor Program
Raptors are important indicators of environmental health. In Maryland, the Barn Owl (Tyto alba) and American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) are cavity-nesting species breeding in Maryland that show widespread, long-term population declines. MBCP established the Maryland Farmland Raptor Program with our conservation partners in 2019 and by 2021 began installing nest boxes and monitoring and banding chicks. Recently, the program has begun trapping adult birds to gather more data and gain a better understanding of the ecological needs of the Maryland populations of barn owls and kestrels. Learn more about MBCP’s Farmland Raptor Program.
Bird City Maryland
MBCP’s Bird City Maryland offers public recognition for all communities in Maryland that implement sound bird conservation practices. It’s part of the Bird City Network of programs across the hemisphere. Maryland’s 13 (and counting) Bird City communities include cities, counties, and campuses across the state. Check to see if your Maryland community is part of the network and to learn more about how to get involved in Bird City Maryland.
Maryland & DC Breeding Bird Atlas 3 (BBA3)
MBCP is the steward of the data collected by volunteers for the Maryland & DC Breeding Bird Atlas 3 (BBA3). Conducted from 2020-2024, BBA3 is the third comprehensive five-year survey of the birds breeding in Maryland and the District of Columbia. MBCP is responsible for overseeing the analysis and making the findings available in digital and/or book formats. BBA3 data will expand on our current knowledge of the region’s breeding birds and contribute to their conservation and management. Get more information about BBA3 including the analysis and publication schedule.