This year marked the centennial of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the most powerful and important bird-protection law ever passed. Over the last century, the law has saved millions, if not billions, of birds from depredatory human activities. In honor of this milestone, National Geographic joined forces with Audubon, Birdlife, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology…
Thalia, it’s called, this upscale neighborhood in Virginia Beach that’s lined with red brick ranches shaded by tall loblolly pines. The community is a few short miles from the mouth of Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean beyond. Bounded on the west by Thalia Creek and on the north by the eastern branch of the…
The Bloodvein River, one of many significant rivers, streams and water bodies within Pimachiowin Aki. Photo Jeff Wells. It’s part of what may be the largest single block of intact forest in the largest intact forest landscape left in human history and the largest remaining landscape of southern boreal forest left in Canada. Millions of…
Wild Bird Trust presents the Top 25 Birds of Europe. Europe is a fairly species poor continent, with about 700 birds recorded. European bird populations are under severe threat from human development, particularly agriculture. A recent review found one third of all birds in Europe to be threatened. Even common birds like the European Turtle…
This week we continue our flash back on some of the best Top 25 photographs of the last year. Of the thousands of pictures submitted and the hundreds selected for the Top 25 blogs, these are considered the best of the best! Thank you to all the photographers who have submitted pictures over the last…
By Rebecca Bentzen The air is filled with the sounds of wings clicking together as thousands of eiders migrate in closely packed flocks on their way to breeding grounds on the Arctic Coastal Plain. Their wings strike each other and rustle as the birds fly low in an undulating formation that stretches as far as…
Celebrated sea captain James Cook implanted a British flag down into the rocky, icy ground on the shore of South Georgia in 1775. When he did so, he claimed ownership of the icy, mountainous Antarctic island not only for his country’s humans, but, inadvertently, also for its rodents. From the arrival of Cook onward, ships…
Over the past year we have received thousands of bird photographs from around the globe. This has been an amazing journey in discovering the amazing variety of birdlife that our world has to offer. This week we take a step back to appreciate some of the best of the Top 25. We hope you enjoy…
Wild Bird Trust presents the Top 25 Woodland Birds. Woodlands come in many shapes and forms from snow covered conifer forests of the Northern Hemisphere, to the humid mangroves of India, to dry savanna woodlands of Africa. What these woodlands all have in common is that they are teeming with birdlife. Birds favour forests because…
Wild Bird Trust presents this week’s Top 25, “Arid Birds”. These birds face stressors such as aridity and heat but thrive nonetheless. Some birds made use of microclimates to escape the heat, using shade to keep cool. Others will dissipate the heat form their bodies by dilating blood vessels in their legs or by holding…
Brood parasites are an incredibly interesting group of birds. Instead of going to the trouble of building their own nests and raising their own young, they out-source these functions to other birds. They will lay their eggs in the nests of other breeding birds and allow them to raise their young on their behalf. They…
Wild Bird Trust present the Top 25 “Wild Birds of the Night”. Nocturnal birds are often lesser known and seldom seen. They tend to be drab since in low light there is little benefit to having brightly coloured plumage. They also have larger eyes than diurnal species which allows maximum light to penetrate to their…
Juliana Machado Ferreira is an Emerging Explorer fighting wildlife trafficking in her home-country of Brazil. With a PhD in genetic research and science, Machado Ferreira combats the illegal trafficking of animals such as birds and turtles, among others, which are taken mostly for ornamental purposes or used as pets. Although Machado Ferreira used to spend…
Wild Bird Trust presents the Top 25 Endemic Wild Birds. Endemism refers to birds that occur only in a region or country. Sometimes endemism refers to a habitat type but often it refers to country demarcations. This is essentially a human definition then and may not mean much to the birds itself. However endemic birds…
“They came back,” says biologist Donald Webster. “This year.” His voice has a wistful note, wondering if the king of ducks, as the beautiful, crimson-headed canvasback is known, will return to rule Chesapeake Bay again next winter. In parka, gloves and hat, Webster, waterfowl coordinator for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR), raises his…