Apr 23

Perspectives

Help Save Wood Thrush: Drink Bird-Friendly Coffee

By Bridget Stutchbury The Wood Thrush is an ambassador for the forest birds of eastern North America, and a modern-day "canary in the coal mine." According to the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS), this species has declined by over 50 percent since systematic counts began in the late 1960s. I wrote… Read more >>

Apr 18

From the Field

Unexpected Dividends: Migratory Sandpipers in a Bolivian Reserve

By John Nielsen First and last, save habitat. If you had to pick a single rule for bird conservation groups to follow that would probably be it. Nobody ever looks back and says, “I wish we had saved less bird habitat,” for one thing. For another, the rewards for preserving… Read more >>

Jan 06

From the Field

Loco for Cuckoos: My Search for the Bay-breasted Cuckoo

By Andrew Rothman Nearly everyone involved in bird conservation has an unseen bird that haunts them—a “ghost bird,” so to speak. My ghost bird, for years, was the Bay-breasted Cuckoo, also known as the “Cua” for its cooing call. Like most other cuckoos, this bird is exceptionally furtive, but also… Read more >>

Dec 23

News, Perspectives

Avian Methuselah: Celebrated Red Knot Keeps on Trucking

The rufa Red Knot called B95 or “Moonbird” may be the most famous bird on Earth. I can’t think of any other wild bird that has its own biographer (Philip Hoose, author of “Moonbird.”) Nor am I aware of any other single bird that has its own statue (at the… Read more >>

Oct 24

From the Field

Chilean Woodstar: A Species Clings to Life in an Otherworldly Landscape

By Dan Lebbin Departing the city of Arica, Chile, during predawn hours, Bojana Kuzimicic picks me up in a Suburu Forester SUV and we drive out into the desert. Our first destination is Taltape, in the Camarones Valley, a two hours’ drive south of Arica. This desert, the Atacama, looks… Read more >>

Sep 19

From the Field

The Art of Waiting on St. Lucia's White-breasted Thrasher

By Kate Freeman While the Caribbean island of St. Lucia has many aspects of a tropical paradise, working in this forest is not exactly white sand and turquoise water. Snake chaps are a critical part of my field gear, as this place is home to the venomous Fer-de-Lance, or St.… Read more >>

Sep 16

From the Field

Millerbird Drama: Season Finale on Laysan Island

August 26 – September 8, 2013 Andrea Kristof The Millerbirds’ fourth breeding wave of the 2013 season continued through our last days on Laysan Island, reflecting the incredible success of our project to ensure a future for this endangered species. Twenty-three pairs are currently displaying breeding behavior ranging from nest… Read more >>

Sep 03

From the Field

Multi-tasking Millerbird Parents

August 12-25, 2013 Megan Dalton For most of the last two weeks, we did not find any new Millerbird chicks, so our tally for the 2013 breeding season was stuck at 48. However, due to a very sneaky, very busy pair in the territory on the southern side of the… Read more >>

Aug 27

Perspectives

Partners in Flight: Taking a Page from the Business World

This week, ABC hosts blogs from our friends at the Partners in Flight V (PIFV) meeting taking place in Snowbird, Utah. We are delighted to spread the word about PIF’s great work to advance migratory bird conservation. For more information on the meeting, see pifv.org. By Bruce M. Beehler My first… Read more >>

Jun 20

From the Field

Spying on the Birds

June 3 – 16, 2013 Megan Dalton After Millerbird pairs have fledged their chicks and are through using their nests, we often will find nests on the ground in pieces as if something has torn them apart. Millerbirds have been known to “cannibalize” their old nests and reuse the nesting… Read more >>