Lauren Leffer

Reporter, Audubon magazine

Lauren Leffer is a science and environmental journalist based in Brooklyn, New York.

Articles by Lauren Leffer

The shallow San Pedro river meanders through grassy reeds.
Will Arizona Save Its Groundwater Before It's Gone for Good?
May 20, 2025 — As wells run dry, difficulties for people and wildlife are surfacing. Advocates say an era of unlimited water pumping must end.
Conservation News
Birding Is a Booming Hobby—and a Big Business
February 20, 2025 — More than 1 in 3 U.S. adults enjoy birding, and the money they spend contributes billions of dollars to the economy.
Birding News
Illustration of robot hands typing on a laptop, the screen showing elements of a power plant, with a bird perched on the screen.
How the AI Boom Threatens to Short-Circuit Climate Action
December 10, 2024 — The energy-devouring technology is giving new life to fossil fuels.
News
Hundreds of dead birds laid out in rows on a large metal table.
More Than 1,000 Birds Collided With a Single Chicago Building in One Night
October 06, 2023 — Weather conditions, a pulse of migrating warblers, and bright lights combined to create a wave of bird death across the city Thursday morning.
Conservation Challenges
Close up of a brown and white bird with a long curved yellow beak looking at the camera, held in someone's hands.
A Migrating Cuckoo Named Hummus Makes a Tasty Case for Land Conservation
August 31, 2023 — On its international journey south, one federally threatened bird has passed through at least six protected areas.
Bird Migration
A bird nest made with hundreds of metal spikes in the fork of a tree branch.
Apparently Magpies and Crows Are Using "Anti-Bird Spikes" to Make Their Nests
July 13, 2023 — Birds often incorporate human-made materials while nest building, but a new study shows European corvids are taking the idea to the extreme.
Bird Nests and Breeding
The Many Styles of Bird Migration Are More Varied Than You Think
April 13, 2022 — It's the journey, not the destination.
From Audubon Magazine
The Planet Is Undergoing an Ecological Transformation, Imperiling Biodiversity Everywhere
March 04, 2022 — In a decade, 9 percent of all species worldwide could be at risk of total extinction, according to a new UN report on climate change
Climate
Many Birds Are Shrinking and Growing Longer Wings as the World Warms. Why?
February 07, 2022 — A growing body of research suggests a warming world could mean smaller birds with longer wings, but nothing about the findings is settled.
Climate
As Threats to Chile’s Birds Grow, a New Strategy Promises Stronger Protections
February 04, 2022 — Advocates are optimistic that the just-launched bird conservation framework will catch on throughout Latin America.
Conservation News