Audubon MagazineSummer 2022

Seas & Shores

Hit the Beach With A Shorebird Biologist

Shelby Casas braves sun, bugs, and storms to protect endangered birds.
From Audubon Magazine

What's In a Bird Name?

More than 100 North American birds carry the names of people, some of whom were enslavers, supremacists, or grave robbers. A growing movement aims to do away with honorifics all together and bestow monikers that reflect each species' unique qualities
 A charred redwood smolders looking upward towards the canopy.
Climate

Rebuilding an Iconic California State Park With Birds and Wildfire In Mind

By Sarah Gilman
July 08, 2022 — In 2020, a blaze consumed Big Basin Redwoods State Park, incinerating cabins, blackening ancient trees, and imperiling endangered murrelets. Staff now want to reimagine the park to better ensure the seabird’s future.
News

California Has a Peacock Problem

By Brendan Borrell
July 08, 2022 — Feral peafowl have turned neighbor against neighbor in Los Angeles, where they claw up gardens, peck at car fenders, and belt out their songs at all hours. Is a more harmonious coexistence possible?
Details of the Wood Thrush including a close up of the raw materials, center, used in the creation of the piece.
Letter From the Editor

No Time Like the Present

By Jennifer Bogo
July 08, 2022 — However quickly life seems to move, it’s worth slowing down and paying attention.
An Indigo Bunting sings on top of a sunflower.
Audubon View

Listen to the Birds Today

By Elizabeth Gray
July 08, 2022 — Some days, they sing messages of peril. But some days, they sing songs of beauty and hope.
A photographer sits on a sandy beach, her lens balanced on one knee, photographing birds in the distance.
Photography

How to Sandproof Your Gear for Beachfront Photography

By Jason Gregg
July 08, 2022 — The beach can be a photographer’s dream—or worst nightmare. Tame unruly sand and salt spray with these pro tips and key tools.
A fire burns across the Loess Canyons.
News

In Nebraska’s Loess Canyons, Setting Trees Ablaze Gives Prairie Birds a Boost

By Brianna Randall
July 07, 2022 — For generations Great Plains ranchers saw fire as a foe. Now they’re banding together and embracing it as a tool to restore grassland habitat.
Seven people among the dense roots of a mangrove forest.
Field Notes

The Buried Treasure in Panama’s Mangrove Forests: the Carbon They Store

By María Paula Rubiano A.
July 07, 2022 — These ecosystems feed and shelter migrating birds and surrounding communities—and help fight climate change. By tapping some of that value, conservationists seek to ensure they’ll continue doing so.
An artistic rendition of a Wood Thrush lays flat against tea-soaked paper. Made entirely out of foraged materials found in nature.
The Aviary

The Foraged Wood Thrush

By Jessica McKenzie
July 07, 2022 — Jessica Maffia merges her artistic talents with her enthusiasm for nature in a plant-based representation of the Wood Thrush.
Illustration of a brick building with endless air conditioning units on the wall.
Climate

How Air-Conditioning Creates a Climate Conundrum

By Spoorthy Raman
July 07, 2022 — ACs will increasingly be needed for people to survive summer heat waves, but they also accelerate warming. Here's how we can break the cycle.
Thousands of cormorants launch off the Astoria-Megler Bridge over the Columbia River.
News

A Photographer Considers the Northwest’s Cormorant Quandary

By Andy McGlashen
July 07, 2022 — In Morgan Heim’s images, the Columbia River’s colonies of trouble-making waterbirds become as fascinating as they can be frustrating.
Poop samples are collected using a popsicle stick while a fluffy Common Tern chick sits on a scale.
From Audubon Magazine

Bird Poop: The Next Frontier of Avian Conservation

By Jenny McKee
July 07, 2022 — Far from waste, a splotch of feces contains valuable information about a bird’s diet.
Audubon Photography Awards

The 2022 Audubon Photography Awards: Winners and Honorable Mentions

By The Editors
July 07, 2022 — A fledgling raptor learning to hunt. Grouse aiming to impress. Two grebes vying for a meal. This year’s winners caught amazing moments.
Birding

The Big Tern Cheat Sheet: How to ID Four Common Species

By Hannah Waters
July 01, 2022 — In summer, North America’s four largest terns are near look-alikes. With a keen eye for detail you can tell them apart.
A sign affixed to a metal post on a beach reads "Piping Plover nesting area." The posts, connected by string, designate a restricted area.
Conservation

Should I Talk to a Stranger Walking a Dog Off Leash Near Nesting Birds?

By Jenny McKee
July 01, 2022 — Experts say it depends on the situation—and your comfort level.
Miles of drying mudflats as waterbirds, including phalaropes, fly over head.
Field Notes

The Great Salt Lake Is Too Big—and Too Important—to Fail

By Alastair Bland
June 21, 2022 — Utah’s leaders and advocates are mobilizing to save the largest saline lake ecosystem in the Western Hemisphere, a haven for people and migrating birds. Time and water are running out.

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