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Where the latest news about birds and conservation takes flight.
On Florida's Marco Island, families of Burrowing Owls live among the locals. Photo: Karine Aigner
Winter 2025 Issue
A puffin scampers across the top of the water as it takes off with a fish in its beak.
Tufted Puffins Are Vanishing Across the Pacific Northwest—Can an Ambitious New Effort Save Them?
December 18, 2025 — Armed with enthusiasm, researchers and volunteers have joined forces to safeguard the flamboyant seabirds as climate change warms their ocean homes.
Two owl chicks sit in a nest as their much larger mother, with a rodent in her beak, comes in for a landing atop a broken tree snag.
Dead Trees Support a Bounty of Birdlife, but Preserving Them Isn’t Always Clear Cut
December 18, 2025 — By studying Great Gray Owls, scientists hope to help more people see that snags offer vital habitat.
Get to Know the Ancient Birds That Lived During the Age of Dinosaurs
December 18, 2025 — Tens of millions of years ago, a diverse array of bird species soared, swam, and thrived amid their scaly reptile cousins—and set the stage for modern birdlife.
Editors' Picks
Magazine
Essential reporting on birds and bird conservation delivered to your door.
Pairing compelling journalism with stunning photography and design, each quarterly issue helps readers grow their appreciation of birds and learn how to help them thrive. Our editorial team also reports and publishes stories on Audubon.org daily, including science and conservation news, birding tips, photo galleries, and interactive reader experiences. In print and digital, through stories and visuals, Audubon emphasizes the importance of a diverse and inclusive science and conservation effort to help meet the challenges facing both birds and people today.
Latest Stories
A flock of Black-necked Stilts fly closely to the water.
Meeting the Moment
September 22, 2025 — Audubon takes its cues from birds to address the climate and conservation challenges of today—and tomorrow.
Two magazine covers with different photos, one of a cormorant and one of a kingfisher.
Which Cover of Our Fall 2025 Issue of Audubon Magazine Did You Receive?
September 22, 2025 — Now in its 16th year, the Audubon Photography Awards doubles the awe.
Grid of three photos showing physical features of Wild Turkeys.
Get to Know a Wild Turkey's Weird Anatomy
September 19, 2025 — Snoods, beards, and wattles—oh my!
A group of male turkeys, feathers puffed out, walk side by side in a suburban front yard.
How to Defeat a Bully—If That Bully Is a Wild Turkey
September 19, 2025 — Our step-by-step guide to fending off an aggressive gobbler about town.
A portrait of the author standing in a pine forest in Maine.
This Psychologist Wants to Hear About the Moment You Fell in Love with Birds
September 19, 2025 — By collecting “spark bird stories,” Jenn Lodi-Smith aims to understand why people get hooked on birds—and how to encourage those experiences.
Two researchers, with equipment and notebooks splayed across a boardwalk in a forest, sit cross-legged while they record data.
Scientists Can Now Track How High Songbirds Fly Over the Ocean—a Potential Lifesaver
September 19, 2025 — Researchers are gathering new insights that improve migration science and may help make offshore wind energy more friendly to small birds with big treks.
A long exposure photo showing the movement of a flying squirrel gliding from a tree across a starry night sky.
It's a Bird, It's a Bat—No, It's a Flying Squirrel. And It Might Be Closer Than You Think.
September 19, 2025 — Flying squirrels are widespread across the United States, but spotting the nocturnal rodents takes some effort. Unless you're a Spotted Owl, that is.
A bird's eye view of a subdivision abutting a forest.
North Carolina’s Population Boom Inspires Advocates to Protect Urban Forests
September 19, 2025 — As new residents flock to the state, Audubon and allies launch an effort to help communities save fast-disappearing city trees from development.
A collage of illustrations showing natural disasters, clean energy sources, healthy habitats, and a ballot box.
To Weather the Growing Costs of Climate Disasters, Some States Are Getting Creative
September 19, 2025 — From tourist taxes to polluter fees, states seek funding solutions to deal with the massive price tag of a warming world.
People sit on a bench in an urban park and look through binoculars.
A New Program Helps New York’s Public-Housing Residents Discover the Nature Right Outside Their Doors
September 19, 2025 — The city’s housing authority houses half a million people on campuses rich in green space. Advocates see that as a big opportunity to bring birding’s benefits to more New Yorkers.
Bird and Conservation News
More News
Silhouette of someone installing a pole in the ground next to a body of water and wind turbines. A second photo of someone holding a bird affixed with a gps tag.
Scientists Can Now Track the Roseate Tern's Migration—and Identify Dangers Along the Way
December 18, 2025 — The findings could help ensure the imperiled seabirds safer passage from the northeastern United States to roost sites in Brazil, where offshore wind development is ramping up.
A Burrowing Owl stands on a concrete block outside a solar panel complex.
How Burrowing Owls Found a Home on an Arizona Solar Farm
December 18, 2025 — As development pushes these charismatic owls from their underground nesting sites, a solar project aims to show that habitat and renewable energy can coexist.
Collage of birds flying around binoculars pointed at a city and logging.
To Reverse Common Bird Declines, Conservationists Will Need to Think Bigger
December 17, 2025 — The most abundant birds are disappearing the fastest. Saving them requires bold, landscape-scale action.

Find a Read

Audubon magazine publishes a variety of story types in print and online. Peruse—and enjoy—just a sampling of our work below. 

Highlighted Feature Stories
North Carolina's Cape Fear River Is a ‘Forever Chemical’ Hotspot—What Does That Mean for Its Birds and People?
North Carolina's Cape Fear River Is a ‘Forever Chemical’ Hotspot—What Does That Mean for Its Birds and People?

Amid mounting global health concerns about PFAS, communities living along the waterway must grapple with how contamination is affecting life on the river. Yet as hard as it is to conduct health studies on humans, it’s even harder with wild animals.

Investigations
A New Plastic Wave Is Coming to Our Shores
A New Plastic Wave Is Coming to Our Shores

A glut of natural gas has led to a U.S. production surge in tiny plastic pellets, called nurdles, that are washing up on coasts by the millions.

Profiles
The Long, Exceptional Life of Frank Graham
A man sitting at a desk with a microscope looks up and smiles.
The Long, Exceptional Life of Frank Graham

As Audubon magazine’s Field Editor for 45 years, Frank Graham, Jr. brought the beauty and resilience of nature into focus—as well as the tenacity of those striving to save it.

The Remarkable Life of Roxie Laybourne
The Remarkable Life of Roxie Laybourne

From deep within the Smithsonian, the world’s first forensic ornithologist cracked cases, busted criminals, and changed the course of aviation—making the skies safer for us all.

Essays
The Day We Didn’t Save the Starling
An illustration of a woman and young girl crouching down looking at something in a driveway next to a house.
The Day We Didn’t Save the Starling

In our rescue attempt, I thought I was giving my young daughters a lesson in compassion. It ended up being the reminder that I needed.

What a Songbird Lost at Sea Taught Me About Survival
What a Songbird Lost at Sea Taught Me About Survival

Aboard a mission to explore the alien life of the deep ocean, a chance encounter with a migratory bird offered a point of connection—one that has felt poignant this past year.  

Remembering Toni Morrison, the Bird Whisperer
Remembering Toni Morrison, the Bird Whisperer

A year after Morrison’s passing, a journalist and birder reflects on how her time with the cherished author changed her relationship with birds—and with herself.

The Audubon Guide to Climate Action
The Audubon Guide to Climate Action

Feeling like you can’t make a difference? That couldn’t be further from the truth. Our award-winning guide shows you where to begin and how to ­amplify your efforts to make lasting change in the world.

Dispatches
An Anna's Hummingbird perches on a twig in the center of the frame against a blurred background of blue, yellow, and green.

The 2025 Audubon Photo Awards: Top 100

Revel in the staggering beauty and surprising behaviors featured in this gallery of our favorite images.

More Photo Essays
Portrait of a Forest on the Climate Edge
A bird's eye view of a winter scene of a forest with some green pine trees and bare aspen, paper birch, and red maple trees.
Portrait of a Forest on the Climate Edge

In Minnesota, a boreal forest ecosystem could shift north over the Canada border this century. Local photographers, scientists, and land managers are grappling with what that means—and how to respond.

Birding Advice and News
Arts and Culture
‘Feather Detective’ Roxie Laybourne’s Career in Six Objects
A metal instrument called a cloacascope on a black background.
‘Feather Detective’ Roxie Laybourne’s Career in Six Objects

From a gynandromorphic grosbeak to feathers collected at a murder investigation in Florida, biographer Chris Sweeney shares six unusual artifacts he found while researching his new book about the world’s first forensic ornithologist.

The Audubon Bird Guide
Brown-crested Flycatcher
Tyrant Flycatchers
Lark Bunting
New World Sparrows
Purple Gallinule
Rails, Gallinules, Coots
Elegant Trogon
Trogons