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…

Bats.... creatures to regard with superstition and fear? On summer evenings, bats put on an aerial display while eating hundreds of mosquitoes. Kent Woodruff of the US Fish and Wildlife Service spearheaded a project to save Townsend's big-eared bats. They preserved an old cabin that the…

2012... Salmon once battled their way up the Elwha River to spawn. And every fall, hundreds of eagles feasted on the spent fish. But a century ago, two dams were built on the river, and they reduced the river's salmon population by more than 90 per cent. After nearly 40 years of…

Thousands of acres of south San Francisco Bay that lay under industrial salt ponds for over a century are now being restored to native tidal marsh. The South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project has acquired almost 24 square miles that salt producers had diked along the bay's tidal margin…

Common Murres, like these, disappeared from the coast of Maine in the 1880s, after years of being hunted. Since 1992, Dr. Steve Kress has been trying to coax the birds to nest there again. And the murres are coming back. In June, 2009, a pair of Common Murres nested on Matinicus Rock. It…

Near Chicago, the Spring Creek Forest Preserve includes acres of woodlands, wetlands, and prairie. The vision is a healthy, sustained, natural area enriching the lives of people while supporting native plants and wildlife. Audubon Chicago Region is helping with restoration. Justin Pepper…

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…

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…

On the Gulf coast of Texas, many Least Terns find protection at Bolivar Flats, an Important Bird Area near Galveston. In 2012, the terns benefited from some extra help. Houston Audubon and American Bird Conservancy posted an intern there as sort of a personal representative for the Least…

Red-cockaded Woodpeckers require large, old pines in which to nest. They breed cooperatively, and a family of these birds may have several nests in one area. They may also forage together, chattering and flying from tree to tree. The destruction of their preferred habitat – mature southern…