As the year turns, honeybees in the darkness of the hive respond to the slowly strengthening light. Their lives and ours depend on the daily transformation of sunlight, through photosynthesis, into energy available to sustain us. The queen bee - seen here with a green mark - begins again…

Shorebirds rely on tidelands and mudflats for food, especially in winter when conditions are tough. Join us on this blustery day to count birds such as these Dunlin at an estuary in western Washington State. The results will go into the Avian Knowledge Network to support the conservation…

Scott Weidensaul, author of Living on the Wind, says “. . . the longest, most amazing, most awe-inspiring migrations are the ones that are most delicately balanced. And if you perturb any of the supports on which it depends, the whole thing collapses like a house of cards.” Fortunately…

Adult volunteers across Canada and the US count the winter birds of their area during the century-old Christmas Bird Count, or CBC. These counts provide scientists with valuable information about the number and distribution of the birds. But Tom Rusert and Darren Peterie felt something was…

It’s early morning in Costa Rica. Tiny bats nestle in a tree after a night on the wing. A Great Kiskadee calls. Gray-capped Flycatchers sally forth from willow-like shrubs to catch insects in mid-air. White Ibis forage at the water's edge. Deep in a thicket, Black-hooded Antshrikes call…

Every day between early October and early November, two planes fly over the Platte River in Central Nebraska. The flight crews are searching for endangered Whooping Cranes, like the one pictured here with Sandhill Cranes. If Whooping Cranes are spotted, a ground crew monitors the birds’…

While watching a flock of Snow Geese, Kurt Hoelting wondered if they were ever going to move; they seemed so content. Then, one by one, their heads began to bob. And after awhile, small groups started to fly away. Then suddenly, the entire flock peeled off the field. Kurt says, “When I…

In autumn, millions of North American waterfowl – like these Redheads – migrate south. They come from Alaska, the prairies and forests of Canada, the Pothole region of the Dakotas, and Eastern Montana. Their arrival is awaited by birders and hunters alike. Because waterfowl are a vital…

Geolocators are revealing fascinating information about the lives of migratory birds. These devices are so light that they can be mounted on the backs of even small birds like the Wood Thrush pictured here with its nestlings. Thanks to geolocators, we know that many Wood Thrushes return to…

The glass and lights of skyscrapers in downtown Chicago pose danger to hundreds of thousands of migratory birds. But the 82-story Aqua Tower is a beacon of a different sort: one for architects embracing bird-friendly design. Compared to some of its neighbors, the Aqua Tower is safer for…