Sep 11

Perspectives

Building Bridges for Birds in Colombia's Sky Island

Editor’s note: As fall approaches and many of our birds are now heading back to their wintering grounds, we here at ABC look back as staff member Dan Lebbin recounts work in South America when the same birds were migrating north during spring migration. I left Dulles International airport in… Read more >>

Aug 08

From the Field

More Millerbirds, More Problems … if You're a Field Biologist

22 July–4 August | By Megan Dalton I was lucky enough to be one of the Millerbird monitors for both this and last year’s tour, and one of the great things about coming back to Laysan is seeing first-hand how the Millerbird population has grown. Over six months of intensive monitoring… Read more >>

Jul 17

From the Field

Fresh Meat for Flies: First Impressions of Laysan Island

July 7, 2014 It has been a week since I arrived on Laysan Island with fellow field biologists Megan Dalton and Robby Kohley. We have been sent to Laysan, a small island in the Northwest Hawaiian chain about 930 miles northwest from Honolulu, to monitor a population of translocated Millerbirds.… Read more >>

Jun 04

News

Behind the Scenes: First-ever Black-capped Petrel Satellite Tracking

By Rob Ronconi Locally known as diablotín, which translates loosely to “little devil,” the Black-capped Petrel (Pterodroma hasitata) is one of the world’s most imperiled and least known seabirds. This species was thought to be extinct for most of the 20th century, then was rediscovered in 1963 nesting high up… Read more >>

May 02

From the Field

Isla Santa Clara: Restoring Habitat for Pink-footed Shearwater

By Holly Freifeld The zodiac’s bow smacked the choppy water hard on the approach to the little island’s landing site: a slippery, wave-washed tongue of rock. We each steeled ourselves for the scramble over the gunwale and onto the rocks in that unpredictable split-second when the boat, the water, and… Read more >>

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 14

Perspectives

Does Bird Friendly Coffee Matter? A Farmer's Perspective

By Jefferson Shriver "Bird Friendly®" coffee’s very name makes it obvious that there are clear benefits for the birds and bird habitat. At Gaia Estate—a medium-sized family farm in Nicaragua that my wife and I own—we grow Bird Friendly coffee, and the birds are plentiful. In addition to year-round residents… 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 >>