Fall 2021 issue

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These Dogs Are a Bird's Best Friend
A dog with brown, white, and gray fur and wearing a harness stands on a boulder and looks at the camera, its tongue lolling out. Behind it, several wind turbines rise from a desert landscape against an orange sky, with mountains in the distance.
These Dogs Are a Bird's Best Friend

With their boundless enthusiasm and amazing powers of smell, canines are playing a growing role in global efforts to protect wildlife.

News
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The Strange, True Story of John Williams and Charles Pennock
October 05, 2021 — In the early 1900s it wasn't unusual for men to suddenly go missing. Among them were two accomplished bird experts whose lives turned out to be surprisingly intertwined.
News
Amid a Drought Crisis, the Colorado River Delta Sprang to Life This Summer
October 05, 2021 — Thanks to a historic U.S.-Mexico binational agreement, water flowing this year is providing hope for the future of a key ecosystem.
News
Hawkwatchers gather along a ridge at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, Pennsylvania, with binoculars, spotting scopes, and seating cushions to take in the raptor migration.
Why You Should Experience a Hawkwatch
October 05, 2021 — Laurie Goodrich has witnessed 35 fall raptor migrations. She shares why hawkwatching still excites her today.
Birding
Two White Ibis walk across green grass, their white plumage contrasting against their reddish-orange beaks and legs. The bird in the foreground clenches a chunk of bread in its beak. Palm trees stand, out of focus, in the background.
You Can Count on Us
October 05, 2021 — Dependability is the key to success—for birds and journalism.
Letter From the Editor
A Red-tailed Hawk silhouette flies high in the sky above a foreground of bare tree branches. The sun glows through the birds' feathers, illuminating its reddish tail.
Look Up! An Introduction to Identifying Raptors in Flight
October 05, 2021 — When hawks and falcons stream across the sky in large numbers, you need a distinct set of birding skills to tell them apart.
News
This Stunning Collection of Bird Portraits Explores the Nature of Beauty
October 05, 2021 — Photographer Tim Flach's new book invites us to marvel at the sheer diversity of avian species.
From Audubon Magazine
A bright red Vermilion Flycatcher perches on a tree branch against a clear blue sky.
Birds Are Telling Us to Act
October 05, 2021 — A summer of brutal extremes drove home the urgency of the climate crisis, as well as the benefits of collaborative action to address it.
Audubon View
More than a dozen terns take off from a wooden nesting platform anchored in a bay. Decoys and seabirds sit on the artificial island.
An Artificial Island May Be the Lifeline Maryland's Common Terns Need
October 04, 2021 — Seabirds have been in worrying decline in the state's Coastal Bays region, but a makeshift nesting site shows promise to help them rebound.
From Audubon Magazine
About a dozen White Ibis are in mid-flight in the air, with wings flapping, as a scientist in the background looks on. Behind them is a kids' playground and green trees.
This Iconic Everglades Bird Is Moving to the ‘Burbs
October 04, 2021 — White Ibis are natural wanderers, traveling far and wide for a meal. But now some birds are scoring steady grub by settling in around people. What does that mean for the species’ future—and what does it say about ours?
Dispatch
Professor Trish O'Kane, a woman wearing glasses and a pink and green jacket, stands in a wooded grove in Burlington, Vermont, where she taught an outdoor class during the COVID-19 pandemic.
One Professor’s Quest to Build Community Through Birding Takes Flight
October 04, 2021 — A University of Vermont class that combines ecology, social justice, and mentorship is having ripple effects through local schools—and beyond.
News
An abstract illustration of a Common Loon on water, its white-flecked wings spread wide and its head, with its piercing red eye, held high.
Reimagining the Common Loon
October 04, 2021 — Building layer upon layer, mixed-media artist e bond coaxes the Common Loon from paper and ink.
Illustrated Aviary
Two men—the one on the left in a green shirt and the other in a black shirt—smile at the camera and stand in front of a green tractor. Behind the tractor is a wagon filled with birders. More birders walk in the green field behind the wagon.
Fighting Black Land Loss Helps Birds, Too
October 04, 2021 — Efforts to reform heirs' property laws are expanding access to conservation as a tool to build wealth for historically disadvantaged farmers.
News
Wet steps overgrown with algae lead from San Francisco Bay up to a concrete fence—the Embarcadero Seawall along the San Francisco business district. The overgrown algae signals how frequently the infrastructure floods due to sea level rise. A row of high-rise buildings and palm trees are in the background behind the seawall.
San Francisco Leads Legal Effort Pressing Big Oil to Pay for Climate Impacts
September 27, 2021 — To force fossil fuel companies to cover the costs of unnatural disasters, more than 20 municipalities are suing them over decades of deception.
News
Three shorebirds walk on the beach towards the shore. The air is thick with smoke and gives the image a dark, orange hue.
How a Photographer Captured This Eerie Shot of Godwits in the Haze
September 09, 2021 — Sebastian Velasquez ventured onto a smoky California beach to photograph birds foraging in a landscape choked by wildfire.
Behind the Shot
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