Audubon MagazineSpring 2023

Maria and Robert speak with a customer over the phone in their brightly green-colored bird seed store.

The Birdseed Business Boomed During the Pandemic. Can That Energy Carry the Industry Into a New Era?

The past three years saw interest in feeding birds explode, with a surge of people joining the ranks and products—including eco-friendly and organic options—flying off the shelves.
Letter From the Editor

Lost and Found

Going in search of unfamiliar birds can be thrilling, but so can discovering the ones there all along.
Audubon View

A Roadmap for the Future

By Elizabeth Gray
March 31, 2023 — Our bold strategic plan will achieve new levels of impact for birds, people, and the planet.
Field Notes

Yes, Birding Does Change Your Brain

By Joanna Thompson
March 29, 2023 — Neuroscientists puzzling over how human memory and learning function often turn to birdwatchers to connect the dots.
An American Kestrel with green ink on its' left shoulder to help scientists identify it.
News

What Is Causing the Perplexing Decline of the American Kestrel?

By Jillian Mock
March 29, 2023 — Although still common, these much-loved falcons continue to disappear from North American skies. Scientists are racing to understand why.
People birding on the side of a road with under-constructions cones in the center.
News

Travel in the Time of Climate Crisis

By Rachel Nuwer
March 29, 2023 — As climate-related disasters ramp up, how can travelers minimize the harms and maximize the benefits they bring to recovering destinations?
News

Bird Nests Tell Extraordinary Stories, If You Learn How to Read Them

By Casey McFarland
March 29, 2023 — Casey McFarland, author of “Peterson Field Guide to North American Bird Nests,” describes how paying attention to nests can improve your birding.
News

As Storms Grow Stronger, a Historic Building Gains Height to Stay Dry

By Kathryn Miles
March 28, 2023 — Rather than abandon the 19th-century structure, staff at Hog Island Audubon Camp have elevated the Queen Mary by three feet.
News

The Window for Saving the Sagebrush Ecosystem is Rapidly Closing

By Andy McGlashen
March 28, 2023 — A health report for a vast western landscape finds alarming habitat loss but offers a strategy for saving what remains.
News

What Should I Do If I Find a Nest Where It Doesn’t Belong?

By Spoorthy Raman
March 24, 2023 — Sometimes birds nest too close to home. Experts share what to do if you find birds raising young on your house or building.
A flock of Sandhill Cranes fly in a line against a blue sky, the moon in the background.
Books

‘Flight Paths’ Unfurls the Wondrous History of Migration Science

By Philip Kiefer
March 10, 2023 — A new book details how amateur birders and bird-loving scientists pieced together the true story of avian migration.
News

This Wave Theory of Spring Migration Will Prepare You for Your Next Birding Outing

By Hannah Waters
March 06, 2023 — Songbirds don’t leave their wintering grounds all together. Here’s when to expect different species as they cross the eastern United States.
News

Appreciate These Magnificent Avian Nests—and the Next One You Find in the Field

By Hannah Waters
March 06, 2023 — Birds build an amazing variety of nest types, and each construction is a work of art.
A small, black and yellow American Goldfinch clings to a feeder while eating little, black Nyjer seeds.
News

What’s the Deal With Nyjer?

By Kevin Dupzyk
March 06, 2023 — The tiny black seed is a favorite of finches, but where does it come from? And why is it always capitalized?
News

Mixology: Breaking Down 5 Common Birdseed Blends

By Kevin Dupzyk
March 06, 2023 — With all the products available these days, sometimes the jargon and claims can get confusing. Here’s a quick primer.
Three people in white suits and masks collect the body of a large white bird in a nesting area next to water while flocks of other seabirds fly overhead.
Field Notes

The Bird Flu Blazes On, Amping Up Concerns for Wildlife and Human Health

By Saima May Sidik
March 01, 2023 — Facing an outbreak that’s unusually deadly for wild birds and spreading to more mammals, scientists worry about when, or if, it will end.
Small cards, each with a different bird illustration, spread out on the rocky ground and lit by a flashlight at night.
From Audubon Magazine

Seeking Auwo: Inside the Search to Find a Secretive Tropical Bird Lost to Science

By Jason Gregg
February 22, 2023 — Last fall, an international team arrived on a small Papua New Guinea island to look for the elusive Black-naped Pheasant Pigeon. To track it down, they needed help from the experts: the island’s Indigenous hunters.
The Aviary

Every Bird Counts in This Incredibly Detailed Visual Checklist

By Zoe Grueskin
February 22, 2023 — Data artist Jer Thorp’s stunning visualization shows every individual counted on a single Brooklyn day.
As the sunrise creates a gradient of oranges, blues, an purples four male Sharp-tailed Grouse spread their wings, low to the ground, as they try to impress a mate.
Photography

Fall In Love With the Ancient Dance of the Sharp-tailed Grouse

By Benjamin Alva Polley
February 22, 2023 — Beguiled by the birds’ courtship ritual, wildlife photographer Noppadol Paothong makes a difficult journey to document their glory so that others can appreciate it.

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