Black Guillemot with sculpin. Peter Mather

Winter 2017

The Black Guillemot's dilemma—evolve or go extinct. How do we outlast mega hurricanes? (Spoiler: Seawalls aren't the answer.) A rare fowl; a rambling odyssey. Resurrecting a lost bird's history, eulogizing the Gulf's wildlife guard, testing the scope market, breaking down border wall schemes, and more.

Read on for the full contents of our winter issue

Can These Seabirds Adapt Fast Enough to Survive a Melting Arctic?

On a remote Alaskan sandbar, under the watchful eye of a devoted scientist for more than four decades, climate change is forcing a colony of seabirds into a real-time race.

Permanence Is Just an Illusion

In the wake of a destructive hurricane season, conservationists and urban planners are grappling with how to protect coastlines—and are increasingly looking to nature for inspiration.

In Search of the Stunning—and Possibly Extinct—Edwards's Pheasant

No one has seen the elusive bird in the wild in nearly two decades, but it might still inhabit Vietnam's war-ravaged mountain valleys.

Hungry Raptors Make Murmurations Even More Beautiful to Photograph

Starlings are easy to find. But capturing their twisted formations as they evade predators takes commitment and vision.

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