In recent decades, the number of Marbled Murrelets, a seabird of the Pacific coast, has declined. Scientists in Canada and the US have analyzed the chemical composition of murrelet feathers - some from birds carefully preserved since 1894 by the Burke Museum in Seattle. The analysis shows…

How did birds and their habitat fare in the wake of Superstorm Sandy? Patrick Comins of Audubon Connecticut, says: "It was extremely powerful. There was significant erosion and over-washing of dunes and beaches. I've had the chance to visit a few of the important nesting areas for Piping…

Fifty years ago, the winter bays of Long Island Sound were black with Greater Scaup. "Broadbills," as hunters called them, gathered in huge flocks between Old Saybrook and Greenwich. But the average number of Greater Scaup wintering on Long Island Sound has declined, and lately, the winter…

Thirty years ago, there were six million Northern Pintails in North America. Now? Just over three million. Duck numbers plummeted in the 1980s drought. When returning rains improved breeding habitat, duck abundance rebounded. Except for Northern Pintails. During migration, the birds fly…

Two-thirds of migrating birds fly at night, making it a challenge to track their movement. Dr. Andrew Farnsworth of Cornell is using a combination of bioacoustics and radar to learn when birds migrate and where they stop, feed, and rest. The acoustics tell what species are migrating at…

What is nature worth? Can its value be quantified? Some natural resource economists and policy-makers say it's important to have a common language of dollars and cents when making decisions about land use and environmental management. Dr. Robert Costanza says that nature provides us with…

Adrian Dorst arrived on Vancouver Island in British Columbia 40 years ago to survey the birds of the Pacific Rim National Park. His photographs helped conserve the Meares Island forest when it was up for logging. [Juvenile Pacific Golden-Plover seen here--] What is it about the people who…

What effect does wind power have on birds? Scientists are taking a close look. Surveys of wind-power projects in Oregon and Washington estimate that wind turbines kill more than 6,500 birds annually. Of particular concern are raptors such as owls, hawks, and eagles. Is replacing oil with…

Chickadees and nuthatches swirl in small chattering flocks in the first light, to drink dew from the cups of leaves. Birds are gifted, as Henry Beston wrote, "with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren, they are…

In 1852, James Swan took up residence in what we now know as Willapa Bay on the southwest coast of Washington State. In his book The Northwest Coast, Swan described the birds he observed on the bay: “white and black swans, white geese, Canada geese, brant, Sheldrake, cormorants, loon…