Lesser Yellowlegs heavily rely on the Gulf Coast for wintering habitat
Credit: Glen Tepke
We’ve posted a couple times on the likely effects the Gulf oil spill will have on migratory birds (here and here), who will soon be flooding the Gulf in large numbers for both wintering habitat and stopover habitat for those en route to destinations further [...]

A little over a week ago we posted an update from Ron Pittaway, who has been writing up the bird counts from Jean Iron up in in the James Bay region of Canada and posting them on the Ontario Birding listserv. Jean is part of a group that heads up to this remote part of [...]

Correction: We originally posted that the following report was written by Jean Iron. It was written by Ron Pittaway based on communications with Jean via satellite phone. The original post was featured on the Ontario Birds listserve.
As you may or may not know, the James Bay coastline (a southeastern extension of the Hudson Bay in [...]

The second update from the three-part series on the oil spill is coming soon. There were some developments over the weekend we are hoping to include in that post – in the meantime, enjoy this “lighter” post on a much happier story:

Bar-tailed Godwit
Credit: U.S. Geological Survey
Every now and then you read something that truly inspires [...]

The boreal forest circles the northern hemisphere like a “green scarf”
Credit: Global Forest Watch
The boreal forest is back in the news again for its increasingly recognized ability to absorb and store massive amounts of carbon. In addition to being an enormous breeding region for migratory birds, boreal forests are vitally important in efforts to mitigate [...]

Birding in Quebec
Credit: Garth Lenz
I thought I’d send a reminder to you all that the 13th annual Great Backyard Bird Count starts tomorrow (the 12th) and goes to the 15th. It’s a great opportunity for local birders to contribute their sightings to a larger database where researchers and experts can better understand bird behavior and [...]

I recently did a radio interview with Robin Young on her daily show Here and Now, on Boston public radio WBUR 90.9 FM. I mostly discussed the global importance of boreal forests and peatlands and their ability to sequester and store massive ammounts of carbon, but also mentioned some birds have adapted well to peatlands, [...]

Today a report by the Boreal Songbird Initiative, the Canadian Boreal Initiative, and the David Suzuki Foundation was released about the increased need to recognize the traditional relationships between indigenous peoples of the boreal forest and the plants they’ve depended on for thousands of years. It’s easy to think about threatened wildlife or carbon storage [...]

North Shore of Lake Ontario
Credit: Garth Lenz
While still largely undervalued as an important part of slowing climate change, forests are starting to get some of the international attention they’ve been owed for years. There have been increasing numbers of stories in the media and online about how important protecting forests are for our climate, and [...]

Leaders, scientists, and other experts will be travelling to Copenhagen next week to work on building an international climate agreement to lessen the escalation of climate change. While commonly-known sources like transportation, production, and manufacturing will be hot topics, it’s important that those at the table also recognize the importance of another large source of [...]