One thing encouraging to me is how much more data we have available now through things like eBird and radar, at a scale that couldn’t even be imagined before. Hopefully this leads to continued insight and action where needed.
Birds can also be detected automatically by sound. The Merlin app is highly effective at recognizing bird calls. It's been a game changer for inexperienced birders.
I've been using it for a month or so now and have really enjoyed it. It's got to the point now that I have renamed my mobile phone to "bird recognition device" and am actually taking it with me when I walk.
BiRDmobile?
iNaturalist also is an impressive app, all species not just birds.