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Pesticides
For all their prowess—can you imagine flying over 12,000 miles each year like a Bobolink?—birds are no match for the insidious chemicals used in many pesticide products. Rat poisons kill raptors like Swainson’s Hawk, owls, and eagles, while weed-killers and… Read More »
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White House Plays Down Pesticide Threat to Pollinators
When the White House Pollinator Health Task Force released its long-awaited federal strategy in May, we applauded the Obama administration for this Herculean effort to protect the nation’s pollinators. The first sentence of the Executive Summary raised our hopes: “Wherever… Read More »
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Meet Elmer, One Smart, Lucky Cerulean Warbler
Migration is big. Especially when you're a tiny Cerulean Warbler. This species' epic journey was tracked for the first time this past spring, when 19 Cerulean Warblers were outfitted with high-tech backpacks capturing essential data about the birds' migration route.… Read More »
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The Nature of Threats to Birds
Here’s a simple taxonomy of threats to birds. Those that are natural (normal predation, disease, weather events, etc.); those affecting reproduction (nesting habitat loss or degradation); and those affecting the survivorship of adults (everything else). How we think about these… Read More »
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Piecing Together the BirdScapes Puzzle for Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Once, the Colorado River roared mighty enough to sculpt the Grand Canyon. It poured more than 5.3 trillion gallons of water into the Gulf of California every year. Nurtured by its waters, riparian forests stretched far into the surrounding countryside… Read More »
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Stuck at home? Use the Opportunity to Make Migration Safer for Birds
Birds have inspired many of us this spring. Here are seven home activities to give back during the COVID-19 outbreak. Instead of pursuing birds this spring, many of us have settled in, watching from windows and yards. While the setting… Read More »
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U.S. Should Follow European Union Lead to Ban Neonicotinoid Pesticides
Contact: Steve Holmer, Vice President of Policy, 202-888-7490 (Washington, D.C., April 27, 2018) In a move that illustrates growing awareness of the toxicity of the world’s most widely used class of pesticides, the European Union has voted to ban almost… Read More »
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Threats to Birds
Despite concern from the public, substantial challenges remain in reducing and mitigating many of the most significant sources of bird mortality. Changes in lighting on communication towers and the marking of electrical lines to stop collisions are just two… Read More »
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Favorite Bird Sounds and Songs in the United States
Bird sounds — especially bird calls and bird songs — provide a natural soundtrack for our lives. Among other things, they give voice to the spring, sweeten the sunrise, and add mystery to the night. But with hundreds of bird… Read More »
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Coalition of 65+ Groups Urge EPA to Reform Bee- and Bird-Killing Pesticides
Neonicotinoid insecticides are devastating to insect-dependent species, such as the Eastern Bluebirds pictured above. Photo by Bonnie Taylor Barry/Shutterstock Today Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and American Bird Conservancy (ABC) spearheaded a regulatory filing with the Environmental Protection Agency… Read More »
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Swallows of the United States: Eight Swallows to Know
You’ve probably seen swallows darting back and forth on fluttering wings, plucking insects out of the air to eat. Swallows — members of the bird family Hirundinidae, which includes 86 species worldwide — are part of a broader category of… Read More »
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Use of Deadly Pesticides Remains Unchecked in U.S., Despite Devastating Impact on Birds, Other Wildlife
https://youtu.be/Jo7j3811z54 The United States is failing to effectively regulate neonicotinoid pesticides (neonics) despite overwhelming scientific evidence that these toxic insecticides harm birds, the insects that sustain them, and the aquatic environments many rely on, according to a report just published… Read More »
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Bobolink
The bubbling song of the Bobolink, which has inspired poets from Emily Dickinson to William Cullen Bryant, ushers in spring across grasslands of the northern United States and southern Canada. Unlike less-conspicuous grassland breeders such as the Eastern Meadowlark or… Read More »
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Lawsuit Challenges Regulation of Neonicotinoids
American Bird Conservancy has joined with beekeepers, farmers, and public interest groups in filing a lawsuit alleging insufficient federal regulation of a dangerous class of pesticide that is deadly to birds, bees, and other wildlife. The lawsuit, filed last week… Read More »
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Top Ways You Can Help Birds, from Coffee to Collisions
We can make great strides to strengthen bird conservation when people take small but powerful actions to live out their bird conservation values. Here are ten ways you can help birds and do your part to shape the future for… Read More »
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3 Billion Birds Lost: A Visual Journey
The news that an estimated 2.9 billion breeding birds have been lost from the U.S. and Canada since 1970 may seem overwhelming. To help make sense of this decline and better understand what it means for birds, we and our… Read More »
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Owls of the United States: A List of all Species
Nineteen owl species are found in the United States. Ranging from the diminutive Elf Owl — the smallest owl on the continent — to the massive Great Gray Owl, these charismatic birds come in many shapes and sizes. While owls’… Read More »
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Merlin
A Falcon by Another Name A formidable bird-hunter about the same length as the related American Kestrel, the Merlin is more powerfully built and seems far larger — more like a miniature Peregrine Falcon. “The Merlin is to an American… Read More »
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Bald Eagle
The majestic Bald Eagle is the only eagle species found solely in North America. It is well-known, even to non-birders, as the national symbol of the United States, an honor it was granted in 1782. The Golden Eagle, also found… Read More »
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Birds, Bees, and Aquatic Life Threatened by Gross Underestimate of Toxicity of World's Most Widely Used Pesticide
Grasshopper Sparrow by Luke Seitz (Washington, D.C. March 20, 2013) As part of a study on impacts from the world’s most widely used class of insecticides, nicotine-like chemicals called neonicotinoids, American Bird Conservancy (ABC) has called for a ban on… Read More »
