Explore Birds

Hummingbird Festival Coming in 2026

December 12, 2025 — Celebrate the annual festival at PRAC

Festivals and Events

A Common Grackle vocalizes with its beak wide open and wings outstretched, perching on a cattail.

10 Fun Facts About the Common Grackle

December 10, 2025 — Scrappy, adaptable, and cosmopolitan, this blackbird is a survivor worth celebrating.

Bird Questions and Facts

A person's hands sort through small bones and bits of fur with a toothpick on a white surface.

From Regurgitation to Education: How One Man Built a Thriving Business Collecting Wild Owl Pellets

December 02, 2025 — Dissecting the expelled balls of bones and other indigestible bits is a popular STEM activity for kids. But where do all those pellets come from, and who is behind this peculiar industry?

Bird Science

A mural of three Lesser Yellowlegs painted on a white brick building.

Lesser Yellowlegs by Justin Suarez

November 18, 2025 — Location: Frosted Farmhouse, 112 Hawick St, Rockton, IL 61072

Audubon Mural Project Partners

Aerial view of a colorful mural of two Lesser Yellowlegs painted on a brick building.

Lesser Yellowlegs by Robert Fishbone

November 18, 2025 — Location: 224 Front Street, Alton, Illinois 62002

Audubon Mural Project Partners

Avis Spiralis

November 12, 2025 — A one-of-a-kind bird blind and observation tower

UMR Arts & Culture

Carole Turek smiles watching a hummingbird hovering at a flower she's holding.

Meet the Woman on a Mission to Photograph Every Species of Hummingbird in the World

November 12, 2025 — In less than a decade amateur photographer and Hummingbird Spot founder Carole Turek has photographed more than 250 hummingbird species, including one that was long considered extinct.

Profiles

An entirely white Common Loon raises its wings, floating on a lake.

‘Once-in-a-Lifetime’ Photos Capture a Rare White Loon’s First Summer

November 07, 2025 — Montana photographer Tony Gangemi documented a season in the life of a leucistic Common Loon, from its first days as a “little cotton ball” up until its first flight.

Photography & Videography