Then and Now: Documenting the decline of shorebirds in Ken’s Journal
WTIP launched the feature “On this Day in Ken’s Journal” in July of 2026, as a way to share Ken Hoffman’s daily observances of birds, plants and other environmental conditions. In his early journals from 1981 and 1982, Ken documents the prevalence of many varieties of shorebirds–particularly around the Grand Marais Harbor.
In this conversation with naturalist Chel Anderson, we ask about the decline of shorebirds between 1981 and today–a group of birds that has experienced a 37% to 53% decline since 1970. Chel also shares some of the reasons for the decline including loss of habitat, pesticides, the global effects of shoreline degradation due to climate change and development, as well as hunting in their southern migration areas and being outcompeted for habitat by Canada Geese in the Great Lakes region. At the start of the conversation Chel also teaches us about the term Empidonax, which refers to a genus of Flycatchers.
For more information on bird species and their conservation status visit the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
To learn more about research into historic avian population decline visit The National Audubon Society.
On this Day in Ken’s Journal is supported in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
