Birds Tell Us to Act on Climate
Pledge to stand with Audubon to call on elected officials to listen to science and work towards climate solutions.
Rebecca Heisman is a freelance science writer based out of Walla Walla, Washington.
Articles by Rebecca Heisman
Science
A Brief History of How Scientists Have Learned About Bird Migration
April 13, 2022 — Researchers today can follow birds' paths as they fly thousands of miles. But it wasn't always that way. Scroll through more than two centuries of advances in understanding this natural wonder.
COVID-19
A Pandemic, a Cancer Diagnosis, and a Year List Like No Other
December 18, 2020 — How birds became a thread of sanity through my tumultuous year.
News
Everyone Has a Bird Question They’re Waiting to Ask
January 16, 2020 — If they’re paying enough attention to birds to ask questions, they’re halfway to becoming an advocate for wildlife.
News
Seagull or Gull: Who Really Cares?
September 26, 2018 — When birders reflexively correct common names like "seagull" or "Canadian goose," they may turn newcomers off the hobby altogether.
News
In a Surprising Scientific Find, Enormous Crab Kills Booby on Camera
November 10, 2017 — A researcher studying coconut crabs in the Chagos Islands never expected to capture gruesome video evidence of one preying on a Red-footed Booby.
News
What's at Stake: Training a Generation of Scientists
September 21, 2017 — Ellen George has barely begun her scientific career studying a little—and a little-known—fish called the cisco. Proposed budget cuts to graduate funding and fisheries science threaten to cut it short.
News
Mallards Are Everywhere, and That’s Great for Wetlands
March 22, 2017 — Forget any misconceptions you might have about the Mallard. These ubiquitous ducks renew and create habitats just by going about their normal lives.
News
By Pitching In Around the Nest, Plover Dads Adapt to Warmer Temperatures
December 23, 2016 — A study found that plover dads can compensate for heat waves by helping to incubate eggs, a possible strategy for adjusting to climate change.
News
Why Do Some Seabirds Eat So Much Plastic? It Smells Like Food.
November 9, 2016 — New research shows that certain seabirds associate a scent produced by common plastics with potential meals—much to their detriment.