This year, twice as many seabird chicks survived the summer and fledged from their nests along the coast of Maine compared to last year. This exciting success rate is much closer to what’s considered normal for Maine’s seabird colonies, following a steep decline last year as climate change dealt a blow to nesting birds like […]
Tag: Peregrine Falcon
How birds of prey are exposing a toxic time bomb
Rui Lourenço first started collecting eagle-owl feathers because they were beautiful. Below the birds’ cliff-side nests in rural Portugal, he would find their shed feathers and bring them back to his ecology lab at the University of Évora. “It was just the typical curiosity of a naturalist,” he says. “Especially the flight feathers, they’re large, […]
Ospreys make triumphant return as breeding pairs spread across UK
“I’m over the moon. We’ve waited a long time for this.” Beth Dunstan, environmental project manager at Belvoir Castle is celebrating the birth of the first osprey chicks in Leicestershire for two centuries this summer, one of a series of recent successes in bringing the osprey back across the UK. The birds of prey were […]
A Visit to a Remote Maine Island Finds Puffins and Terns Are Having a Good Year Despite Climate Change
The title of supervisory wildlife biologist for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service does little justice to Linda Welch (pictured above). In practice, she is the housing and unusual development secretary for seabirds on Maine’s Petit Manan Island. This was clear as she led me to nesting areas there for Atlantic puffins. Over the […]
A peregrine falcon named Grinnell and his partner Annie captured the hearts of thousands of viewers
At the foot of a bell tower on the campus of UC Berkeley, bouquets of flowers, written eulogies and framed photos have piled up as residents mourn the death of a beloved celebrity. But not just any celebrity – a peregrine falcon named Grinnell, whose live-streamed exploits with his partner Annie captured the hearts of […]
We Saved the Puffins. Now a Warming Planet Is Unraveling That Work
I stepped onto the battlefield of climate change, sidestepping carcass after carcass. In the grass were the remains of Arctic terns, common terns, and roseate terns. Along the boulders, researchers pointed out dead puffin chicks. As other climate war zones smolder with wildfire embers, are strewn with flattened homes, or marked by bleached coral, the […]
Wild Animals are Thriving in New York City Right Now
Wildlife in New York City has never been thriving, much to the surprise of those who live there and take care of the gardens. Adrian Benepe, who is now the president of Brooklyn Botanic Garden, said, “I grew up in the parks. There were never red-tailed hawks or Peregrine falcons or bald eagles. You didn’t […]
Two young ospreys were removed from their nest and euthanized so workers could replace a light in a Southern Maryland park
Two juvenile ospreys were taken from their nest on a light pole at a park in Calvert County, Md., and euthanized, causing a stir among local wildlife enthusiasts and birders. County officials said they followed all protocols and federal laws protecting birds in removing the young ospreys from the pole to replace a light fixture […]