Birds

[ad_1] A team of scientists led by researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has recently made a surprising discovery, with the help of a wind tunnel and a flock of birds. Songbirds, many of which make twice-yearly, non-stop flights of more than 1,000 miles to get from breeding range to wintering range, fuel themselves … Read more

[ad_1] A rare kingfisher species that has existed only in captivity since 1988 is the focus of a reintroduction project that may one day return it to the island of Guam. The Sihek (also known as the Guam Kingfisher) is endemic to Guam and declined following the introduction of the predatory brown tree snake to … Read more

[ad_1] Tongli is an ancient water town in Jiangsu province about one hour away from Shanghai by car (see here for some photos of the city). Its minor claim to fame among the water towns around Shanghai is its sex museum – a bit of a rarity in traditionally prudish China. However, for birders not … Read more

[ad_1] Bitterns have had another great breeding season in the UK with 228 booming males counted in 2022, according to new survey results from the RSPB and Natural England. Bitterns are bouncing back again with a fantastic 228 booming males counted during their last breeding season. They have also bred successfully for the first time … Read more

[ad_1] Saving a species on the edge of existence can demand imaginative solutions. In the case of Cerulean Flycatcher, an Indonesian island endemic, it involved working with the local community, changing farming practices and getting a Species Champion on board. On the slopes of Gunung Sahendaruman, an extinct volcano on the Indonesian island of Sangihe, groups … Read more

[ad_1] Whether for the movies or a gourmet meal, popcorn has taken over the snack industry and is now on its way to reign in fine dining. The other day I opened a piping hot bag of popcorn, and the buttery goodness enveloped my entire house. To my utter surprise, my bird went ballistics to … Read more

[ad_1] Since the 1950s, humanity has produced an estimated 8.3 billion tons of plastic, adding a further 380 million tons to this amount each year. Only 9% of this gets recycled. The inevitable result is that plastic is everywhere, from the depths of the oceans to the summit of Everest — and notoriously, inside the … Read more

[ad_1] The decades-long project to keep the California Condor from going extinct faces a new crisis due to the widespread strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported on Wednesday that six condors are confirmed to have died from HPAI since March 20, and 12 other deceased birds are … Read more

[ad_1] Wawushan is a weird kind of mountain – it is almost flat at the top. In fact, it is the world’s second-largest table mountain with a maximum altitude of 3,522 meters.  In many ways, birding Wawushan is a nightmare for a solitary and crowd-hating birder like me. It is a Chinese tourist place – the … Read more

[ad_1] It uses data, mostly collected by volunteers, to track the fortunes of around 100 of the UK’s rarest breeding species, including Golden Eagle, Crane and Turtle Dove. The Panel’s work informs a wide range of conservation and monitoring work, including the reintroduction of Red Kite and White-tailed Eagle, and assessments of Sites of Special … Read more