Not so long ago, knowing when and where to find migratory birds was something of an art. Weather conditions, resource availability, and other factors meant that best guesses as to when birds would arrive were often imprecise. Many birders relied on sage advice from more experienced observers, dial-in hotlines for reports of rare birds, word … Read More>>

In the fall of 2023, 1,000 birds died overnight at a glass-fronted building overlooking Lake Michigan. Hundreds of warblers, including Palm, Yellow-rumped, and Tennessee collided with the building, along with scores of Swamp, White-throated, and Lincoln's Sparrows, and buntings, Soras, and thrushes. The mass die-off prompted national attention and calls from American Bird Conservancy (ABC) … Read More>>

On the morning of September 29, 2023, Manuel Weber was in the midst of a 14-day expedition through Upemba National Park in the southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). He surveyed his surroundings from a boat on Lake Kabwe, hoping to spot a bird lost to science for more than seven decades. The species … Read More>>

Fabrice Schmitt tells the story of an expedition by GECO Nature that resulted in photographs and sound recordings of two species not documented since 2013 Two birds lost to science, the Sira Barbet and Peruvian Solitaire, were recently observed in Peru during an expedition led by the NGO GECO Nature in July 2024. The isolated … Read More>>

American Bird Conservancy (ABC) is proud to be a part of the Conserva Aves initiative, a partnership that seeks to create and expand subnational protected areas in Latin America. We have exciting progress to report in Colombia, with several endangered species benefiting from habitat protection, including the Antioquia Brushfinch, Cundinamarca Antpitta, and Glittering Starfrontlet. With … Read More>>

The Lesser Prairie-Chicken is the focus of new bills in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, with some legislators seeking to permanently remove the species from the Endangered Species Act (ESA). If successful, this effort will likely be catastrophic for the beleaguered bird.  While listing a species under the ESA is always a last … Read More>>

Birds brighten the gray days of February and March and keep us company through the coldest months of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. The flash of crimson from a Northern Cardinal alighting on a branch, the joy of catching a well-camouflaged Brown Creeper circling a tree trunk, and the sweet sounds of sparrows and … Read More>>

While birds may appear abundant — we see them every day, right? — recent studies point to an unsettling truth: Avian populations are declining. In just the last 50 years, nearly a third of all U.S. and Canadian birds have disappeared. As it stands, one out of every eight bird species in the world faces … Read More>>

What do the Long-billed Curlew, Canada Warbler, and ‘Akeke‘e have in common? They all benefit from funds coming from the U.S. federal budgeting process.  This process, also referred to as appropriations, is kind of like the phenomenon of migration: It happens reliably, year after year, a feat that can seem miraculous. It can also be … Read More>>

According to some estimates, around 360 million acres of North America’s original native prairies have already been lost through conversion to croplands, degradation from over-grazing, and the encroachment of woody plants due to fire suppression. Not surprisingly, the birds that rely on this habitat are in trouble.