Other Animals

It’s more possible than ever before to gain an understanding of when and where wildlife roams. Advances in technology have led to increasingly lightweight and sophisticated tracking devices, and researchers are using these devices to record the movements of everything from butterflies to elephants. As our capacity to collect data on animal movement grows, so does

The Americas are home to 46,284 square kilometers of unparalleled natural wealth that for years has been overlooked and often an underestimated treasure: the mangroves.  Panama, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Mexico, Cuba, Costa Rica, Surinam, Dominican Republic, and Guatemala are some of the countries where this vital ecosystem exists, a favorite landscape for thousands of

Cover image of the popular Wingspan board game Back in 2005, a young lady by the name of Elizabeth Hargrave caught a newfound bug for board games while on a trip. Deeply impacted by the thrill, she wondered if a game could be produced in themes other than the usual historical, and science fiction slants.

Chestnut-collared Longspur. Photo: Joshua Galicki/Audubon Photography Awards Good management of any resource, whether it is money in a bank account or wildlife populations, requires information about how much there is and whether it is increasing or decreasing. For biologists tasked with managing migratory birds, this information has not always been easily available or reliable. Enter

One of Alaska’s lesser known seabirds, the Aleutian Tern might also be one of its most threatened. Pointy-beaked with a black cap and striking eye stripe, the species inhabits eastern Russia and much of the Alaskan coast, but its U.S. population has declined by more than 80 percent in the past few decades, raising concerns for the bird’s

Northern Bobwhites. Photo: Lillian Beasley/Audubon Photography Awards Pandora, Texas — The Pajarito Ranch, managed by Grazing Lands in Wilson County, has received a bird-friendly habitat certification from the National Audubon Society. Beef products produced on the ranch can now carry the Audubon Certified bird-friendly seal, which recognizes their origin on lands managed for birds and biodiversity.

Red-tailed Hawk. Photo: Jamie Burning/Audubon Photography Awards In a move that surprised nearly everyone on Capitol Hill (including, humbly, your friendly neighborhood National Audubon Society policy and comms shops), the Biden Administration’s effort to pass sweeping climate action is back on the table. The Senate has an opportunity to advance one of the most significant

Audubon Great Lakes went birding with Congresswoman Jackie Walorski (R-IN-02) in June of 2021 through Potato Creek State Park in north-central Indiana to discuss the importance of conserving the Great Lakes for the benefit of Indiana’s birds and Hoosiers. From left, Kristin Murphy, Dean Swihart, Rep. Jackie Walorski, Tai Gunter, Kristen Sweinhart, Heidi Gray, Marnie

This Horned Lark forages in grassland habitat on a Colorado ranch certified by Audubon’s Conservation Ranching Initiative. The program is one example of how to make agricultural lands climate-resilient and wildlife-friendly—a key goal of the new legislation. Photo: Evan Barrientos/Audubon Rockies And just like that, hope springs when you least expect it. After many months

Terns are mesmerizing. The sight of a tern effortlessly hovering over the waves and diving elegantly after fish is without fail a highlight of any beach visit. But in North America they aren’t the easiest birds to tell apart: Most terns seem to have a black cap, white and gray body, and long pointy bill, and to behave in similar

Installed: 04/01/22 About the Bird: A denizen of the high Arctic, Snowy Owls are impressive to behold—large, powerful, and with snowy white feathers perfectly evolved to blend in with their icy habitat. Occasionally people as far south as Utah and Washington D.C. will catch a glimpse of one during the winter, when populations irrupt, or

A scarlet macaw chick gets weighed. Image courtesy of Nora Magonyi, The Macaw Society The long renowned team working from the Tambopata Research Center in Perú has moved down river to the Malinosky Biological Station, which is owned and operated by the Peruvian government. Here is an update about the great works of the Macaw

Installed: 06/19/22 About the Bird: A familiar bird with a graceful flight, the Barn Swallow—true to its name—has adapted well to living adjacent to people. It typically builds its mud-and-grass nests in barns, under eaves and bridges, and on other human-made structures. The bird is frequently seen swooping low over fields and water to capture and eat

An American Avocet forages at Audubon’s Edward L. & Charles F. Gillmor Sanctuary along the southern shoreline of the Great Salt Lake in Utah. Photo: Evan Barrientos/Audubon Rockies (UPDATE July 29, 2022)—Today, the House of Representatives passed the Saline Lake Ecosystems in the Great Basin States Program Act as part of the larger Wildfire Response and

Sandhill Cranes. Photo: Isabel Guerra Clark/Audubon Photography Awards The water crisis in the West is well documented—we focused on this in a recent post—but we’re now in unchartered territory. Some have said the West is now in the bullseye of climate change impacts. What we need now are realistic, scalable solutions, some of which Audubon

Raft trip on the Colorado River through Grand Canon National Park, AZ. Photo: Ted Wood/The Water Desk Crisis is brewing on the Colorado River, the result of decades of water use exceeding the river’s water supply, leaving some communities and ecosystems vulnerable—including the Grand Canyon. Climate change is making things worse, shrinking the river. NASA

Cobras are awesome! Cobras are not good pets. But what if I told you that there is a snake that looks and acts like a cobra, but won’t kill you? Well good news, the Egyptian false cobra (Malpolon moilensis) exists! But is it a good pet? And is the Egyptian false cobra the best pet

Pine Siskins. Photo: Ryan Mandelbaum/Audubon Photography Awards If you spend as much time outside on British Columbia’s rural Galiano Island as professional gardener Ana Todorović does, it’s a sad inevitability that you will encounter dead birds. But when Todorović returned home from work on May 16, she noticed something distinctive about the goldfinch-size, streaky-brown bird corpse on

Great Egret. Photo: Peter Brannon/Audubon Photography Awards Birds are telling us that we must do more to invest in their future. Federal funding is key to bringing birds back from a decline of 3 billion birds since 1970, by investing in climate solutions, conserving natural resources, building resilient communities, and protecting birds. As Congress considers

Webinar: A Unique Learning Retreat for Pet Bird Owners Date: Friday, August 26, 2022 Time: 12:00 pm PDT (double-check your local time with this time zone converter) Join us for a FREE, live, interactive webinar hosted by Laura Doering, former editor of Bird Talk magazine and Birds USA magazine. Our special guests, Lisa Bono, CPBC,

Piping Plover. Photo: Matthew Filosa/Audubon Photography Awards WASHINGTON – Last month, the House of Representatives advanced its 12 spending bills through a rigorous process of hearings and committee negotiations. Led by House Appropriations Chair Rosa DeLauro, the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 spending bills include some significant investments for bird restoration, climate action, and community resilience.

Webinar: The Grey Way: By the Numbers – Managing a Multi-Bird Household Date: Friday, August 12, 2022 Time: 12:00 pm PDT (double-check your local time with this time zone converter) Join us for a FREE, live, interactive webinar hosted by Laura Doering, former editor of Bird Talk magazine and Birds USA magazine. Our special guest,

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Pileated Woodpecker. Photo: Gordon Congdon/Audubon Photography Awards How woodpeckers repeatedly slam their heads into trees without causing serious brain injury has always fascinated birders and scientists alike. Leading theories suggested that a foamy layer between the birds’ bill and skull helps absorb their impact with wood, protecting their brains. This long-held belief that woodpeckers had built-in shock

Pileated Woodpecker. Photo: Jocelyn Anderson/Audubon Photography Awards The Pileated Woodpecker is a fabulous gateway species into birding—especially for young kids. Large and easy to observe without binoculars, the Pileated is native to Canada, the Pacific Northwest, and the eastern half of the United States. The impressive bird is best known for its distinctive and prominent

Photo by David Clode on Unsplash Summer — that sizzling time of the year when we try to stay hydrated and perhaps indulge in water-dense foods like watermelon and other juicy fruits. When exposed to the summer heat, we might break out in a sweat and seek shade to cool our bodies down. What about

Red-winged Blackbird. Photo: Ed Mattis / Audubon Photography Awards. ***Lire en Français *** After the wild swings of temperature that many of us endured this winter, it was sometimes hard to imagine that spring could really be in the cards. But there is no stopping the seasonal changes that come about from Earth’s rotation around the sun. The

Red-throated Loon. Photo: Mick Thompson. ***Lire en Français *** In late August, while most of us are soaking up the last days of summer, migratory breeding birds of the Arctic and the Boreal Forest within Canada are mobilizing to return to southern wintering grounds. For many of the shorebirds, waterbirds, and waterfowl that breed in the far north,

The Madagascar hissing cockroach is one of the largest and most commonly kept pet cockroaches on the planet. It makes sense too, these are really great captives. So the hissing cockroach is a good pet, but is it the best pet insect for you? #clintsreptiles #hissingcockroach #madagascarhissingcockroach Video Sponsored by Ridge Wallet: https://www.ridge.com/CLINT ==== Video

This year almost 2,500 photographers from across the United States and Canada submitted nearly 10,000 photographs and videos to Audubon‘s 13th annual Audubon Photography Awards. Reviewing anonymous image and video files, three panels of expert judges selected eight stunning winners and five honorable mentions. (Spoiler alert: It was a great year for grouse). We couldn’t stop there, with so