When the Swainson's Thrush departs its wintering grounds in Mexico or South America, it travels at night. When does it sleep? Recent research by scientists at Bowling Green State University suggests that during migration, Swainson's Thrushes take hundreds of "power naps," lasting only a…

Earth Day 2014! A spring day, and Mallards and wigeons muddle about, while male Red-winged Blackbirds court their harems. Friends gather to put up a greenhouse – like a barn-raising of old! A parade of chickens passes by. Everyone responds to the warmth of the sun. With the job done, we…

North America’s tallest bird, and one of its most endangered -- the Whooping Crane! There are fewer than 600 in the world even when you count the ones in captivity. They’ve rebounded from an all-time low of 15. The only wild migratory flock – about 275 – winters along the Texas Gulf Coast…

Like migratory birds, the dances of North America travel from nation to nation. Beautifully colored songbirds may breed in the far north, but they winter in Central and South America. During a Zumba class, Heather Murphy realized this combination of dance, music, and culture might be used…

It won’t be long before North America’s largest swallows, Purple Martins, will be looking for places to nest. They’ll be arriving from as far away as Venezuela and Brazil. In eastern North America, where most martins breed, they nest almost exclusively in human-made houses - like the one…

With up to nine-foot wingspans, Trumpeter Swans are the world's largest water birds. Watching them in flight brings us into the presence of what the poet Rilke called "a more powerful reality - rising and circling, poised but wild." But they came close to disappearing. Through the love…

Aaron Gyllenhaal is only 16 years old, but he can identify more than 1,000 species of birds! In October 2013, Aaron set a new record, having observed more than 276 species in a single year in Cook County, Illinois. Such an accomplishment requires perseverance. Finding a Lapland Longspur…

“There’s no place in the world that’s had more bird extinctions since human settlement than the Hawaiian Islands,” says Dr. George Wallace of American Bird Conservancy. Of the 42 native bird species that remain, nearly three-quarters are endangered. But there is hope: Thanks to habitat…

August, 2014 - GOOD NEWS! Thanks to American Bird Conservancy and others, Reckitt Benckiser has agreed to pull 12 d-CON products off the market! Check the transcript to learn of alternatives for dealing with pests. When birds of prey die from rodenticides, it’s a double whammy, because…

While many in the US are out counting birds for the annual Christmas Bird Count, our friends in Latin America are doing the same. At Costa Rica’s La Selva Research Station, they’re counting resident tropical birds and those that have migrated south for the winter, like this Baltimore…