That neat, satisfying fall cleanup you have planned for this weekend may be the worst thing you do for the birds in your yard all year. The brown stalks, shaggy grasses, and faded flower heads you are itching to cut down are not garden waste. They are the winter pantry for wildlife, and once they…
Your bird feeder might be the most dangerous thing in your backyard right now, and you probably have no idea. Researchers now describe backyard wild bird feeding stations as potential “superspreader” sites for avian flu, places where species that would never share space in the wild converge on a single perch, swapping saliva, droppings, and…
Two birds have just chimed in to an unusually noisy competition: the race to be considered the loudest bird in the world. The bare-throated bellbird and red-legged seriema can both produce calls that exceed 120 decibels, according to a new University of Massachusetts Amherst study published in Evolution. That puts them alongside the white bellbird,…
Adam Franks and his girlfriend were walking through Wahta Mohawk Territory in Ontario when they came across something neither expected to ever see wedged between three trees: a bald eagle. Franks said the bird was completely still and silent. So motionless was the bird that, at first, the couple thought it might have already died….
A tornado appeared to take shape over a Massachusetts wildlife refuge this week. No storm warning was necessary; the swirling darkness was less cloud and more 100% birds. On Sept. 14, thousands of tree swallows filled the sky above Parker River National Wildlife Refuge in Newburyport during their fall migration, creating a spectacle the U.S….
Most backyard bird feeders are not bird sanctuaries. They are, by nearly every measure that conservation biologists use, the fast food drive-through of the avian world: convenient for the customer, questionable in its health outcomes, and decidedly more beneficial to the franchise than to anyone it claims to serve. That may sound harsh, especially for…
You know it’s a good garden morning when a robin hops past your feet and goes on its merry way. Their bright chests and polite confidence feel like a compliment to your backyard, and it is. If a robin decides to nest nearby, it’s almost like nature handed you a gold star. But for some…
As more homeowner associations manage neighborhood lakes, trails, shorelines, and shared green space, one Alabama community is showing how quickly a wildlife problem can become a public HOA fight. The Edgewater Owners Association in Madison, Alabama, voted to euthanize hundreds of Canada geese living around Lady Ann Lake, according to WAFF. Board President Brian Goodwin…
There is a shrub sold at nearly every garden center in America, marketed for its cheerful red berries and reputation for attracting birds. What most gardeners don’t know is that an exact plant can kill most birds within the hour. If you have it in your yard right now, this article is the most important…