Ray Young Bear, a writer and member of the Meskwaki Nation, says that birds are important to Meskwaki spirituality. He says the reverence that Meskwaki culture has for birds and other living beings makes it essential to protect them and the places they live. And he wants more people to…

So many of the challenges facing birds are systemic, bigger than what any one person can fix — so how do we get governments to step in and do something? Tykee James, a Sr. Government Relations Representative for The Wilderness Society, has approached this issue in a creative way: by…

Bird-a-thon is Massachusetts Audubon’s biggest fundraiser. Teams of birders spend 24 hours competing to observe as many bird species as they can, to encourage people to donate. But Meghadeepa Maity, who helped organize Bird-a-thon in 2021, realized that not everyone can spend all day…

In this episode of BirdNoir, the P.I. gets a call from someone desperate over a bird stealing a tuft of her precious Pomeranian’s fur. The detective is able to ID the thief, a bird with so light a touch that it can take fur from a snoozing dog without waking it. The motive: nice, warm…

Many bird species can eat the fruits of plants that are toxic to humans —even the white berries found on poison ivy. These birds just aren’t sensitive to the compounds in the berries that are irritating or poisonous to people. While you probably want to stay away from poison ivy, you can…

For many species of birds, scientists know more about the males than the females. And that’s a problem when making a conservation plan for a species that maps out which habitats to protect. Joanna Wu, a PhD student at UCLA, says that in some species of warblers, males and females live in…

After countless birding adventures of her own, Sharon Stiteler — who’s also known as Birdchick — decided to write a book that could serve as a fun introduction for beginning birders. Sharon compares the size and shape of each bird species in the book to everyday objects as a memory aid…

We end our season with a little seabird that’s making a comeback. The Hawaiian Petrel, or ‘Ua’u, was once written off as going or gone from the islands. But after recent discoveries of remnant colonies, we see how some human intervention with the right tools can make a huge difference for…

Hawai‘i has its own species of crow, the clever and charismatic ʻAlalā. But the species hasn’t been able to survive in its shrinking native habitat. The only reason the ʻAlalā still exists is because of captive breeding programs. Reintroducing them to the wild is fraught with challenges…

In 2020, the first Black Birders Week celebrated the contributions of Black birders and called for greater inclusivity in the outdoors. Later that summer, the first Black Botanists Week premiered. Georgia Silvera Seamans, an urban forester, helped organize the event. Now in its third year…