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☆ Opinion | The Beautiful World of Birding
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-14 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

To the Editor:Re “Birds Open Our Eyes and Ears,” by Ed Yong (Opinion guest essay, March 31):Mr. Yong has written a marvelous article that will resonate with many birders, especially in these troubled times. Many are the mornings when I’ve put aside reading the news in favor of watching the birds at my home in southeast Arizona. To Mr. Yong’s article I would add that seeking and identifying new birds are wonderful ways to experience the world. Spending time getting to know the birds you’ve already seen can be equally fulfilling, if not even more so. Craig CorayPatagonia, Ariz.To the Editor:Thank you for the wonderful birding article.

Persons: Ed Yong, Yong, I’ve, Craig Coray Locations: Arizona, Craig, Craig Coray Patagonia, Ariz

☆ What putting up a bird feeder can lead to
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Aj Willingham | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Blame the bird feeders — all three of them (plus a bird bath and a hummingbird feeder, of course). It’s hard to describe what happens, but it comes upon you like a cascade of feathered dopamine: You get a bird feeder. Then, the birds start to come to your bird feeder! While you can certainly outfit your bird community with top-of-the-line accoutrement, it’s not that expensive — and just as satisfying — to just have a single feeder. Even the most humble sparrow or house wren has its own little personality, its own little dramas and peculiarities.

Persons: can’t, I’ve, Cardinal, I’m, It’s, birdsong, you’re, it’s Organizations: CNN, Bravo

☆ Opinion | When I Became a Birder, Almost Everything Else Fell Into Place
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( Ed Yong | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Last September, I drove to a protected wetland near my home in Oakland, Calif., walked to the end of a pier and started looking at birds. On that pier, for the first time, I had gone somewhere solely to watch birds. In some birding circles, people say that anyone who looks at birds is a birder — a kind, inclusive sentiment that also overlooks the forces that create and shape subcultures. I keep abreast of eBird’s rare bird alerts and have spent many days — some glorious, others frustrating — looking for said rare birds. I went out with experienced birders to learn how they move through a landscape and what cues they attend to.

Persons: I’ve, birders Organizations: Journalism Locations: Oakland, Calif, Sibley, United States, pish, owling

☆ The Foreign Language That Changed My Teenage Son’s Life
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( Paul Tough | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Max was always a shy kid, slow to warm up to new people and content to spend long stretches on his own. But when he got to school in the morning, it was like a curtain came down between him and the world. A new subject came along in those pandemic years to once again capture his imagination: birds. Maybe creatures that could fly and soar were an appealing notion during endless lockdowns, or maybe birds were just another vast universe for him to map. Max borrowed bird books from the library and lay in bed reading them, absorbing facts and patterns, gathering arcane knowledge.

Persons: Max, didn’t Locations: Texas

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A visit from a rare, fine-feathered tourist has interrupted one of Las Vegas’ prominent shows. Initially, the Bellagio's fountain shows were paused while officials figured out how to proceed, an MGM Resorts International spokesperson told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Wildlife officials determined that the bird wasn't bothered and the show was cleared Tuesday to resume, but a spokesperson later said the shows would remain on hold. The Associated Press sent an email Wednesday seeking updated information from an MGM spokesperson, including when the shows might resume. The bird likely sought shelter from a storm, Nielsen said, noting that it isn’t uncommon for migratory birds to visit the valley.

Persons: birders, Doug Nielsen, Nielsen, We’re, Gee, I’m Organizations: LAS VEGAS, Bellagio, Vegas, National Park Service, MGM Resorts International, Las Vegas, . Wildlife, Associated Press, MGM, Nevada Department of Wildlife’s Locations: Las Vegas, U.S, Nevada

☆ Flaco, the owl that escaped from Central Park Zoo, is dead after hitting a building
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-24 | by ( Dalia Faheid | Rob Frehse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Just over a year ago, Flaco the Eurasian eagle-owl captivated the hearts of New Yorkers when he fled from a Central Park Zoo enclosure after it was vandalized. Flaco became an attraction in Central Park with birders and others regularly posting updates on X about his whereabouts and eating habits. Despite efforts from members of the Wild Bird Fund who responded quickly to Friday’s collision scene, the bird was declared dead, the WCS said. The Wild Bird Fund notified zoo staff who picked up the bird and transported him to the Bronx Zoo for a necropsy. Flaco had frequently been seen in and near Central Park and other locations across Manhattan since then, according to the society.

Persons: Eric Adams, Flaco Organizations: CNN, Yorkers, New York City, Wildlife Conservation Society, Bird Fund, Fund, Bronx Zoo, NYPD, Zoo, Conservation Society Locations: New, Manhattan, Wildlife, Central, birders, Central Park

Under cover of darkness a year ago Friday, someone breached a waist-high fence and slipped into the Central Park Zoo. The break-in happened steps from the shared headquarters of the New York City Parks Department and the Central Park Zoo, in the vicinity of at least one surveillance camera. Since the zoo suspended efforts to re-capture Flaco in February 2023, there has been no public information about the crime. In 2021, another beloved Central Park owl, Barry, was fatally struck by a truck after ingesting a lethal dose of rat poison that may have impaired her flying. He’s also lucky.”Flaco spent his initial months of freedom mostly in Central Park, which is loaded with wildlife, but has lately preferred more urban sections of Manhattan.

Persons: Flaco, hadn't, ”, Jacqueline Emery, “, Max Pulsinelli, Nicole Barrantes, Jerry Vlasak, we’re, Barry, Suzanne Shoemaker, “ He’s, He’s, ” Flaco, David Barrett, Barrett, “ It’s, “ We’re Organizations: Central, Zoo, Fifth, New York City Parks Department, Central Park Zoo, Parks Department, North American Animal Liberation Press Office, Wildlife Conservation Society, Manhattan Locations: York, Maryland, Central Park, Manhattan, North America

☆ Opinion | North American Birds Will No Longer Be Named for Racists — or Anybody Else
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Margaret Renkl | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On Nov. 1, the American Ornithological Society announced that it would be renaming all the birds under its purview that are currently named for human beings. This change, which will affect some 150 North American birds, has been a long time coming. Ornithologists and amateur birders alike have long wrestled with the historical nature of bird names bestowed by early collectors. Some of the birds — not all, it’s important to note, but some — were named for people who held views considered repugnant today. John James Audubon, for whom the Audubon’s shearwater is named, was an unrepentant slaveholder who opposed emancipation.

Persons: Colleen Handel, John James Audubon, slaveholder, Winfield Scott Organizations: American Ornithological Society, Ornithologists

☆ The Original Birders Gave Photography a Run for its Money
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Walker Mimms | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

As the National Audubon Society recovers from a referendum to change its name in light of the fact that America’s founding birder was a slave owner (the name stayed), a luxe reissue of John James Audubon’s magnum opus, BIRDS OF AMERICA (Abbeville, $195), proves the man’s artistry itself unimpeachable. His paintings foretold the ambitions of the camera, and at only a quarter of the size of the four-volume folio that was first published between 1827 and 1838, this still hefty edition preserves the poetic backdrops and fierce detail of the original. The copperplate lines are so exact they mimic the individual venation of feathers; the neck of a gyrfalcon takes on all the ripply realism of moiréd silk.

Persons: birder, John James Audubon’s Organizations: National Audubon Society, OF Locations: Abbeville

Birds in North America will no longer be named after people, the American Ornithological Society announced Wednesday. “There is power in a name, and some English bird names have associations with the past that continue to be exclusionary and harmful today,” the organization's president, Colleen Handel, said in a statement. “Everyone who loves and cares about birds should be able to enjoy and study them freely.”Rather than review each bird named after a person individually, all such birds will be renamed, the organization announced. She said heated discussions over bird names have been happening within birdwatching communities for the past several years. And a group called Bird Names for Birds sent a petition to the ornithological society urging it to “outline a plan to change harmful common names” of birds.

Persons: Colleen Handel, Alexander Wilson, John James Audubon, John P, McCown, “ I'm, ”, Emily Williams, Susan Bell, Christian Cooper, Amy Cooper, Cooper, birdwatchers Organizations: American Ornithological Society, Confederate Army, Georgetown University, National Audubon Society, National Audubon Society's, Audubon, Birds, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: North America, U.S, Canada, ”, New

☆ Birds in the Americas Will No Longer Be Named After People
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Katrina Miller | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The American Ornithological Society, which is the organization responsible for standardizing English bird names across the Americas, announced on Wednesday that it would rename all species honoring people. The organization’s decision is a response to pressure from birders to redress the recognition of historical figures with racist or colonial pasts. The renaming process will aim for more descriptive names about the birds’ habitats or physical features and is part of a broader push in science for more welcoming, inclusive environments. “We’re really doing this to address some historic wrongs,” said Judith Scarl, the executive director of the American Ornithological Society. Dr. Scarl added that the change would help “engage even more people in enjoying and protecting and studying birds.”

Persons: James John Audubon, Winfield Scott, We’re, ”, Judith Scarl, Scarl Organizations: American Ornithological Society, U.S . Civil Locations: Americas, United States, Southwest, Mexico, birders

☆ When Is a Species Extinct? U.S. Is Close to Naming 21, but Not This Woodpecker
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Catrin Einhorn | More About Catrin Einhorn | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Government officials said Monday that they plan to remove 21 species from the Endangered Species Act for the saddest of reasons: because they are extinct. But remaining on the list, at least for a bit longer? The ivory-billed woodpecker, a majestic bird whose continued existence has been debated by scientists and birders for decades. Fish and Wildlife Service’s delisting proposal, put forward in 2021 for 23 species, included ivory bills. Now the agency said it will continue to analyze and review available information before making a decision.

Organizations: Fish Locations: U.S

☆ A Long Walk on a Small(ish) Island
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Elaine Glusac | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

From Room 7, relieved to recover in warmth, I had a view of the property’s 30-foot red cliffs. Dozens of lobster buoys bobbed in the water, and a meadowlark sang out on the broad lawn. As at Points East, once I sat down, I had no desire to leave and was grateful for an inn with meals. Embracing solitudeFour days into the walk, I found my rhythm. If you like solitude, do the Island Walk.

Persons: ”, Stephens, Johnson Shore innkeepers, “ Anne of, “ Maples Organizations: Points, “ Anne of Green Gables Locations: Elmira

☆ For Migrating Birds, It’s the Flight of Their Lives
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Emily Anthes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +17 min

Simone NoronhaFor Migrating Birds, It’s the Flight of Their Lives Leer en españolAmerica’s birds are in trouble. If migrating birds lose their winter refuges, the consequences will ripple across the hemisphere. MissouriMissouri provides breeding habitats for many grassland bird species, which have been faring especially poorly in recent decades. “This is a classic Pacific Northwest to west Mexico species,” Mr. Jiang said. The birds breed at marshes and wetlands across the Western United States and Canada.

Persons: Simone Noronha, “, ”, Viviana Ruiz, Gutierrez, Jeremy Radachowsky, Ken Rosenberg, Deb Hahn, Hahn, Anna Lello, Smith, Sarah Kendrick, Nick Bayly, That’s, Andrew Stillman, Archie Jiang, Mr, Jiang, Dr, Stillman, Camila Gómez, ” Dr, Ruiz Organizations: Center, Avian, Cornell, of Ornithology, Wildlife Conservation Society, Partners, New, New York Metro Area, UNITED STATES, BERMUDA BAHAMAS MEXICO Maya, PERU Moderate, Forest, Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies, Southern Wings, The, Central, Mesoamerican Alliance for People, Forests Initiative, Forests Initiative . Missouri, CANADA UNITED STATES, BERMUDA CUBA MEXICO VENEZUELA COSTA RICA BRAZIL, U.S . Fish, Wildlife Service, Missouri Department of Conservation, Colorado Colorado, CANADA, ARGENTINA CANADA Colo, U.S, Bird Conservancy, Rockies, , Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability, UNITED STATES Calif, Western Locations: North America, United States, Canada, Costa Rican, Caribbean, U.S, eBird, New York, BERMUDA BAHAMAS MEXICO, BRAZIL, PERU, CHILE, ARGENTINA, PERU Moderate CHILE, Forest BRAZIL, CHILE ARGENTINA, Forest BRAZIL PERU, New York City, Bahamas, The New York, Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Central America, Central American, Forests Initiative ., Forests Initiative . Missouri Missouri, South America, BERMUDA MEXICO VENEZUELA COSTA RICA, Missouri, BERMUDA MEXICO VENEZUELA COSTA RICA BRAZIL, BERMUDA CUBA MEXICO VENEZUELA COSTA RICA, BERMUDA CUBA MEXICO VENEZUELA COSTA RICA BRAZIL PERU, Venezuela, Argentina, Cuba, Central, South, SELVA, Colombia, Costa Rica, Plains, UNITED STATES MEXICO ECUADOR, Colorado, UNITED STATES Colo, MEXICO ECUADOR BRAZIL, Northern Mexico, Texas, California, West Coast, Alaska, Pacific, MEXICO, URUGUAY ARGENTINA Alaska, Salt, CHILE URUGUAY ARGENTINA Alaska, BRAZIL PERU BOLIVIA, URUGUAY ARGENTINA, Sierra Nevada, Chile, Western United States

☆ In New York City, the Odds of Spotting a Rare Bird are Rising
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-26 | by ( Lola Fadulu | More About Lola Fadulu | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Birds that were once rare in New York City have been making more frequent appearances in recent years, to the thrill of local bird-watchers. Birders have also noticed a reduction in the number of birds passing through New York City, said Marshall Iliff, the project leader for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s eBird project. Many birders love to watch warblers on their southward migration in mid-August, but Mr. Iliff noted that the wildfires in Canada caused many birds to leave earlier than expected. “It’s those kind of things that sort of raise the question of whether birds are going to be able to adapt to these changing environments,” Mr. Iliff said. He said that as the forests dry out and as fires increase, birds that are expected to be seen passing through Central Park in spring could become “these really rare, rare events.”

Persons: ”, Heather Wolf, Marshall Iliff, Iliff, “, Mr Organizations: Cornell, of Ornithology Locations: New York City, Canada, Central

☆ ‘Birds Are My Eyesight’
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Alexandra Marvar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +14 min

‘Birds Are My Eyesight’ For some blind birders, avian soundscapes are a way to map the world around them. Cheer up, cheer, cheer. Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty.” Northern Cardinal Watch here! Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty. To some, the Northern cardinal sounds like it’s saying “pretty, pretty, pretty.” Audubon Vermont compares its call to a Star Wars light saber.

Persons: Susan Glass, ”, “, Michael Hurben Ms, Glass, martin, lockdowns, Sarah Courchesne, Courchesne, Freya McGregor, birdsong, Jim Wilson, cheerily, Robin Cheer, Jerry Berrier, Berrier, Berrier's, Kayana, Berrier’s, ’, Jerry Berrier Mr, that’s, ” Mr, ‘, ’ ”, I’ve, ” Trevor Attenberg, Mr, Attenberg, Hurben, —, Michael Hurben, Claire Strohmeyer, piha, trekked, Werner Herzog’s, “ Aguirre, I’ll Organizations: West Valley Community College, Massachusetts Audubon, New York Times, Audubon Society, New Haven Birding Club, ”, “, The New York Times, Baltimore oriole, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University, Watch, Audubon, Star, Ornithologists Locations: Saratoga , Calif, Pittsburgh, Erie, Michigan, Massachusetts, Newburyport, Cape Cod, Colombian, Ipswich, Malden , Mass, Audubon Vermont, Portland ,, Mexican, U.S, California, Bloomington, Minn, Cape, N.J, Brazil

☆ The Butterfly Net, the Hunt and the Magic of Attention - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( Lewis Hyde | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Fully quit of school and finally in love, I had been offered a cabin in West Virginia for the summer. Within the month I had restocked my childhood armory — net, killing jar, spreading board, pins, display cases — and was again out roaming the fields. Watching a documentary recently about the old men of Italy’s Piedmont who hunt for truffles, I noticed that sometimes when they explain themselves all talk of truffles drops away. The one thing I have not yet discarded is the butterfly net. I don’t know if the same is true for birders with their binoculars or deer hunters with their rifles, but for me, walking with the butterfly net alters my perceptions.

Persons: he’s Organizations: Italy’s Locations: Connecticut, Pittsburgh, West Virginia

☆ How Sketching Birds Changes the Way You See Them
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( The New York Times | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Throughout the summer birding project, we have been encouraging new birders to try different ways to observe birds. Sketching is one way to deepen your observation skills. Below is a selection of what you sent us, along with insights into how it changed your birding experience. Tell us in the comments: Have you tried sketching? Has it changed the way you observe birds?

Persons: David Sibley

☆ There’s a Birding Group for Everyone
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Camille Baker | More About Camille Baker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

This week’s challenge for new birders: Try joining a group for an outing, or go birding with at least one new person. And if you’re already part of a birding community, tell us about it. Did you meet friends — or even your spouse — through birding? In early 2020, as Black Lives Matter protests were taking place worldwide and the pandemic was beginning to unfold, Ollie Olanipekun and Nadeem Perera founded Flock Together, a group for birders of color in Britain. “I go to these remote towns where there’s no people of color, there’s no diversity,” Mr. Olanipekun, 38, said.

Persons: —, Ollie Olanipekun, Nadeem Perera, “, Mr, Olanipekun Locations: Britain

☆ Christian Cooper and Amy Tan on How Birding Brings Them Joy: a Live Event
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Christian Cooper and Amy Tan came to birding from very different paths. Cooper had found refuge in birding as a child, long before the Central Park incident that brought him to national attention. For Tan, birding was a more recent discovery, prompted by a need for an outlet away from political events. The conversation will be hosted by Dodai Stewart, a birding enthusiast and a Metro writer for The New York Times. We’ll also tell you how you can start birding as part of The New York Times summer birding project.

Persons: Christian Cooper, Amy Tan, Cooper, Tan, ”, Dodai Stewart, We’ll, Alan Burdick, Jenna Curtis Organizations: Metro, The New York Times, New York Times, The Times, Cornell, of Ornithology

☆ Opinion | Christian Cooper and the Birds of New York
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

To the Editor:Re “Birds Show Us What It Means to Be Free,” by Christian Cooper (Opinion guest essay, May 28):I am a Central Park birder who has known Christian Cooper for many years. Among birders Chris is a cherished member of our community. He is known for his knowledge of birds, his ability not only to spot birds but also to identify bird song, as well as his generosity in sharing this knowledge with those of us less gifted than he is. Thanks in good part to Chris, the world of birding is no longer an all-white activity. Walk in the Ramble in the spring and you’ll meet Black, Hispanic and Asian birders as well as many young birders.

Persons: Christian Cooper, —, Chris, you’ll, birders, Judith Schiller Rabi, Christian Organizations: birder Locations: York, Central

☆ Opinion | Three Years After a Fateful Day in Central Park, Birding Continues to Change My Life
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Christian Cooper | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Birding, however, offers things those other passions do not. With birds, no matter the time of year, there’s always something to see. Imagine watching land and sea unfold beneath you not through the windows of an airplane but under your own power. The things that you’ve left behind recede to insignificance, put into new perspective by a towering vantage point. In 2021, National Geographic invited me to host a television show on birding, “Extraordinary Birder,” and I said yes.

☆ This Summer We’re Helping Scientists Track Birds. Join In.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( The New York Times | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +21 min

This Summer We’re Helping Scientists Track Birds. This data will help scientists understand better how birds are affected by forces like climate change and habitat loss. We’re obviously a little bit biased here, so I’m going to recommend the Merlin Bird ID app. Nearly half of all bird species worldwide are known or suspected to be in decline, and climate change could accelerate this trend. Look up past reports of that species on the eBird Species Map and zoom in on your city.

Persons: Mike McQuade, We’ll, Michelle Mildenberg Daryln Brewer Hoffstot, phoebe, Hoffstot, Indigo Goodson, “, Kirsten Luce, Alli Smith, Merlin, —, It’s, That’s, Andrew Spear, ”, Tom Auer, Mr, Auer, birders, James T, Tanner, Steven C, Latta, Chris Elphick, . Latta, Michaels, et, Christine Schuldheisz, Richard O ., Ivory, they’d, Mark, Elphick, there’s, ” Dr, eBird, I’m Organizations: Birds, Cornell, of Ornithology, The New York Times, New York Times, University of Connecticut, Credit, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Yale, Times, Cornell Lab, Walmart Locations: Pennsylvania, North America, Virginia, South America, Canada, Alaska, Louisiana, Pittsburgh, United States, Cuba, Arkansas, eBird

☆ Bears, Binoculars and Bucket-List Birds: A 15-Day Tour in Ecuador
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Dorothy Spears | Alexis Rockman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

After a 4:30 a.m. breakfast at the Sani Lodge, where our group was staying, my husband, Alexis, and I pulled on our rubber boots. Our birding guide, Jeison Gualinga, whistled for a canoe while flashing his light among the reeds by the main dock. Our birding trip in Ecuador arose like a bird call, by word of mouth. Our friend Olaf Soltau, a devout birder, was tipped off by a respected birder friend to enlist Pablo Barrera of Adventures Columbia to coordinate a tour. Our trip would culminate with five days in the Yasuní National Park, whose humid green jungles are a birding paradise.

☆ Secretive Society Keeps Watch Over Arizona’s Holy Grail of Cactus
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Eliza Collins | Photographs Ash Ponders For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PIMA COUNTY, Ariz.—Millions of saguaro cactuses grow in the Sonoran Desert, yet only an estimated one in 200,000 exhibits the spectacular crown of the crested saguaro. Its rare beauty spawned the needle-in-a-haystack mission of Arizona’s secretive Crested Saguaro Society. With the zeal of birders, the society’s 10 members are out to find as many of the crested saguaro as time and energy allow. They hunt in a desert that stretches across 100,000 or so square miles.

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