Sprague’s Pipit
Credit: R. K. Bowers
So when a bird is recognized as an endangered species, it automatically becomes protected by the federal government, right?
Not necessarily.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) issued a ruling earlier this month that there was sufficient evidence to conclude that the Sprague’s Pipit warrants protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). [...]

Our story about the potential problems that Boreal birds may face as they arrive on the Gulf Coast for the winter or on their way to more southerly wintering areas has been picked up by a number of news outlets over the last couple of weeks. Thought readers may be interested to read some of [...]

Bill recorded 38 Swainson’s Thrush on the night of September 10-11.
Credit: Jeff Nadler
For those waiting to hear whether the predictions made by Bill Evans of a grand nocturnal migration of Boreal birds came true last week, we post below Bill’s update. Check out especially the thermal video image of nocturnally migrating birds– the birds look [...]

We wanted to share two recent items related to water issues in Canada’s Boreal Forest region that everyone should be aware of.
One is a striking video about the potential fate of a beautiful lake in British Columbia which, believe it or not, could be completely drained for mining purposes and then used as a place [...]

Weather can have effects on both breeding and migratory patterns.
Credit: Garth Lenz
We all know that weather can affect the breeding and migratory patterns for a number of birds. From extremes like hurricanes and storms to more subtle weather events like a calm, clear night that might make migration a bit smoother, weather can have a [...]

We don’t normally post more than once a day on the blog but this just came through on one of the listserves from my friend Bill Evans from Ithaca, NY, about what may be a massive southward nocturnal migration of Boreal birds that will take place in southern Canada and the eastern U.S. over the [...]

One of the Congo River’s famous barges.
Credit: Julien Harneis (via Wikimedia Commons)
This incredible audio series recently aired on National Public Radio about a river journey through the Congo Basin, one of the Family of Five—the Earth’s last five large blocks of unfragmented forest, of which Canada’s Boreal is one of the largest. Although river transportation [...]

Intact  natural  forests are vital to climate regulation.
Credit: Garth Lenz
Until quite recently, a major factor increasing global warming problems had been largely ignored in the debates and discussions around climate change and what to do about it.
Emissions from land-use change, which mainly come from industrial development such as logging, mining, peat extraction and draining, and [...]

 
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 [...]