For my final birding column of the 2010s, I asked New Jersey conservation experts whether they were optimistic about the future of birds, and what bird lovers can do to help save them.

The experts are (in alphabetical order): David Wheeler, Executive Director, Conserve Wildlife Foundation; Chris Soucy, executive director, The Raptor Trust; Eric Stiles, President, NJ Audubon; Kathy Clark, wildlife biologist, N.J. ENSP: and Don Torino, president of the Bergen County Audubon Society.

You can download it here:

Download TheRecord BirdWatcher Wright-20191226-BL03-1

Photo caption: Although waterfowl populations are on the increase overall, the numbers of the exquisite Northern Pintail are a third of what they were in the 1950s.