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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
Bridget Butler smiles looking towards the camera with binoculars around her neck, surrounded by trees.
Vermont's Birders and Landowners Are Joining Forces to Contribute to Science
September 21, 2022 — A new program recruits volunteers to survey breeding birds that would otherwise go uncounted.
Students paint a large mural depicting multiple birds.
Audubon Is Powered by People
September 21, 2022 — Our chapters, our members—you—are what make Audubon successful, and our collective power can accomplish great things for everyone.
Two dead barred owls lay in the back of a pick-up truck.
It’s the Moment of Truth for the Northern Spotted Owl
September 20, 2022 — Preventing the Pacific Northwest icon’s extinction calls for aggressive intervention, including killing another owl species. Will we act fast enough?
A group of nine people stand in front of a small wooden building surrounded by forest on a sunny day.
Who Runs the Forest? Increasingly, in the Southeast, It’s Women
September 20, 2022 — New groups are cultivating communities of women who manage their trees with economic and ecosystem sustainability in mind.
An oil painting of rocky expanse, a blue sky in the background. A barren branch extends from the top left to bottom right side of the image. In the center is a creature with gray legs and a red and yellow head with a beak, carrying a smaller bird whose head, with a splash of yellow, points directly to the right.
The Western Tanager of Tomorrow
September 19, 2022 — George Boorujy’s evocative artwork depicts a colorful songbird in a climate-devastated future.
A small library of books and a bench line a small path through a green meadow.
These Native Meadows in Motown Aim to Boost Birdlife and Neighbors’ Well-Being
September 19, 2022 — Detroit Bird City breathes new life into dormant parks, creating havens for residents and avian visitors.
A collage of illustrated birds appearing to fade as a spaceship launches in a cloud of smoke.
From Ground to Orbit, Space Industry’s Lift-Off Sparks Environmental Concerns
September 19, 2022 — As more rockets take flight, how will we protect life at home?
An aerial view, looking straight down, of bleached white cedars standing in water. They have been killed by flooding from sea-level rise.
How New Jersey Plans to Relocate Flooded ‘Ghost Forests’ Inland
September 19, 2022 — A $20 million cedar restoration project in the state’s Pine Barrens shows how people can help vanishing habitats outpace sea-level rise.
The Bird Migration Explorer Lets You Interact With Nature’s Most Amazing Feat
September 15, 2022 — With this revolutionary new tool, anyone can follow hundreds of species on their epic journeys and discover challenges they face along the way.
An orange bird with a dark blue stripe through its eye and a large head and beak perches on a branch in an indoor facility.
The Guam Kingfisher Could Soon Return to the Wild After a 30-Year Absence
September 09, 2022 — Extinct on its native island since the late 1980s, the endangered bird may fly free as soon as 2023—but not on Guam.
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
American Three-toed Woodpecker
Woodpeckers
! Priority Bird
American Woodcock
Sandpipers
Marbled Godwit
Sandpipers
Pine Siskin
Finches