The water level in Oregon’s remote, salty Lake Abert fell to unusually low levels in July 2013. As it did, the salt concentrations became too high even for the few species adapted to its saline waters. Tiny brine shrimp and alkali flies died en masse. By September, so much water had been lost that the salts precipitated into a shimmering white crust of triangular crystals.

Daily counts of shorebirds had reached 350,000 in July – a higher density than is found even at the Great Salt Lake – but after the lake dried out and remained empty the following summer, bird counts dropped by 90%.

In 2014, 2015, 2021 and 2022, the lake remained largely dry, with bird numbers decimated. Last winter, an unusually wet season replenished some of the lake’s water but scientists warn that the overall trend is still one of decline and the factors that dried up the lake remain.

Most people have never heard of Lake Abert, but it is a critical stopping point for migratory birds that have evolved to live on inland saline waters. In the past decade, however, it dried up five times, provoking recriminations between conservationists and local ranchers, who use water from the lake’s tributaries to irrigate their land.