Urban ornithologist and children’s author Murry Burgess has always been interested in wildlife. But she first felt a spark for birds on a college field trip to Dauphin Island, a beach town on the Gulf Coast of Alabama that’s a famous stop-over site for migratory birds. There, she saw a…

While many birds have hollow bones that make flying a breeze, diving birds are built differently. The bones of divers such as Common Loons are denser than those of songbirds and other expert fliers. With a lightweight skeleton, they’d be too buoyant to dive and chase fish. Instead, loons…

The call of the Common Loon is a symbol of the far north. But the species once nested as far south as southern New England, Ohio, Iowa, and California. Human activity and changes to the landscape in these more populated areas has made it harder for loons to persist. There have been…

J’orge Garcia loves making things. For several years at the Chicago Public Library, he helped people to design and build their own creations with educational tools like the Finch Robot. With basic coding skills, J’orge and his students could program the little, bird-shaped bot to sing…

The video game Alba: A Wildlife Adventure lets you have adventures in a stunning virtual landscape while curled up at home with a cup of hot cocoa. The game puts you in the shoes of a birdwatcher and conservationist on a Mediterranean island. As you traverse the animated ecosystems, listen…

At her home in New Orleans, Grammy-winning musical artist Rickie Lee Jones has transformed her yard into a safe haven for birds. By putting out water and feeders, she’s become popular with the local cardinals, doves, and even a crow with a distinctive white wing. The experience has…

The Wall of Birds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology is a towering mural showing nearly 250 life-sized birds across a map of the world. To complete the impressive artwork, artist and scientific illustrator Jane Kim spent 17 months painting day in and day out. Though the experience was often…

At the visitor center of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, artist and scientific illustrator Jane Kim painted the Wall of Birds to celebrate the evolution and diversity of birds. Completed in December 2015, the massive mural depicts nearly 250 birds — and several of their ancient…

While many shorebirds have gone south, tiny sandpipers called Sanderlings are easy to find on winter shores. They follow the waves as they lap in and out, probing the swirling sand for prey. They often eat various small crustaceans such as mole crabs, isopods, and amphipods. But they also…

Duck hunting may sound like a forbidden sport for most bird lovers but did you know that some of the most dedicated bird conservationists - in the world - are also devout hunters? In this episode of Bring Birds Back, our host Dr. Deja Perkins speaks with Jerad Henson from Ducks Unlimited –…