Indholdsfortegnelse for Photo Issue 2017 i Audubon Magazine

many baby birds can’t fend for themselves. They are altricial, meaning they need parental care—if not from adult birds, then from humans. Photographer Andrew Garn knows this firsthand. He volunteers as a wildlife rehabilitator at the Wild Bird Fund in New York City, where he has turned some of his avian patients into subjects. He is drawn to the young birds because their ungainly, alien look is so different from their adult form. “It’s amazing how they become so elegant,” Garn says. NAKED AND AFRAID Altricial birds are born bald, or with patches of natal down feathers like this Monk Parakeet chick (left). It hatched from an egg laid by a rescue, and Garn photographed it right after it broke free, bits of shell still clinging to its body. A…

Board of Directors Maggie Walker Chair of the Board Susan Bell Vice-Chair David Hartwell Vice-Chair David Roux Vice-Chair Joseph H. Ellis Secretary Karim Al-Khafaji Assistant Secretary Terry L. Root Assistant Secretary Phil Swan Assistant Secretary George S. Golumbeski Treasurer Ajay Shah Assistant Treasurer Jane Alexander Peter Alpert Christian T. Brown Coleman Burke Michele Crist David B. Ford Jeffrey Goodby James C. Greenwood William Heck Sarah Jeffords Richard H. Lawrence, Jr. Stephanie Little Hector E. Morales, Jr. R. Cynthia Pruett Hugh Simmons Heather Singh Jack Stewart Stephen Tan Lili Taylor Art Wang CEO & President David Yarnold Executive Staff Jose Carbonell Chief Marketing Officer Mary Beth Henson Chief Financial Officer Susan Lunden Chief Operating Officer David O'Neill Chief Conservation Officer David Ringer ChiefNetwork Officer Vice Presidents Matthew Anderson John Beavers Shannon…

July marks the peak breeding season for millions of birds in northern Alaska. Yellow-billed Loons nest around the deep waters of Teshekpuk Lake, Spectacled Eiders settle into the sedges of the Beaufort Sea, and species from all 50 U.S. states flood the vibrant coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. But soon the fossil-fuel industry could take over this ecologically imperative region, otherwise known as “America’s Bird Basket.” In May Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke ordered his department to create a plan that maximizes oil and gas extraction in the western Arctic (home to Teshekpuk and the refuge). An earlier executive order also looks to overturn a ban on offshore drilling in the Arctic Sea. If approved, both schemes may upend a delicate compromise that balances business with…

The riparian forest that lines the waterways of the Colorado River Basin provides critical habitat for birds, including 400 species along the lower Colorado River alone. But because the region has been radically re plumbed, that habitat is changing. Water and Birds in the Arid West: Habitats in Decline, a report published by the National Audubon Society in July, documents what that shift means for birdlife, now and in the future. Scores of dams and diversions have altered river flows, undermining native tree species and allowing invasive shrubs to grow in their place. At least six breeding birds, including the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher and Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo, have declined in sync. As human demand increases and the climate changes, riparian habitat—native or not—could begin to disappear altogether. By protecting the…

Saline lakes—the landlocked water bodies that dot the Intermountain West—are beacons for millions of birds crossing an otherwise arid landscape. As Audubon’s Water and Birds in the Arid West report shows, these lakes and their associated wetlands form an invaluable network of stopover points rich in prey—one that supports 90 percent of Eared Grebes, 90 percent of Wilson’s Phalaropes, and more than half of American Avocets. Humans are increasingly diverting the water that replenishes saline lakes, driving their water levels down and their salinity up, which in turn alters the food web and habitat upon which birds rely. In the summers of 2014 and 2015 nearly all of the saline lakes reached record lows or dried completely, a trend that will be exacerbated by climate change in the future. Waterbirds…

The silent black-and-white footage opens on a seemingly tranquil setting: a burrow where an Atlantic Petrel tends to its chick. Then mice begin scurrying in and out of frame. The dark blurs jostle the adult, darting up to the exposed chick and tearing off bloody bites. They’re eating it alive. The horrific scene is captured by nest cams on Gough (rhymes with “off ”), a rugged volcanic island about 1,700 miles west of South Africa. It has one of the world’s largest seabird nesting colonies, with millions of birds representing 22 species. It’s also home to hundreds of thousands of mice, descendants of stowaways on 19th-century seal-hunting ships. The tiny predators devour some 900,000 chicks a year and threaten to decimate the island’s Atlantic Petrels and Tristan Albatrosses, which breed…

Spectacles Unlike most songbirds, many of the vireos have white rings around their eyes. The White-eyed Vireo, however, has yellow ones (baffling, we know). Wing Bars Species like the Blue-headed or White-eyed Vireo have two obvious stripes across their wings. Others, including the Gray Vireo, have a fainter pair. Mimicry The White-eyed Vireo is a pro at copying and pasting other birds’ calls into its own. Listen for a medley of woodpeckers, thrushes, and tanagers. Name Tags There are a few vireos that are aptly labeled. The key field marks of the Black-whiskered, Blue-headed, and Yellow-throated are revealed in their names.…

THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA looms large in the history of bird study. Alexander Wilson, “the father of American ornithology,” lived there for years, and his younger successor and occasional rival, John James Audubon, dwelled just west of the city when he first came to America. So these experts must have been well acquainted with the Philadelphia Vireo, right? Wrong. They never saw it—at least, not knowingly. The Philadelphia Vireo was not described to science until 1851, the year that Audubon died and long after Wilson was gone. How, then, did they (and other early naturalists) miss the city’s only namesake bird? For starters, the species isn’t common near Philadelphia. The first known specimen was found there, but it was a migrant, passing through. Secondly, this cryptic creature is easy to…

Rent Gear While there are zero costs once you’re in the great outdoors, the price of camping equipment can add up quickly. REI and many local sporting goods stores loan tents, sleeping bags and pads, and stoves for reasonable fees. Outdoorsgeek.com ships nationwide, and its basic camping package for two starts at $97. Reserve a Spot Campsites at more than 2,500 federal areas, from Alaska’s Tongass National Forest to Florida’s Lake Okeechobee, are just a click away at recreation.gov. The website’s Camping 101 guide offers excellent advice for a safe and successful trip. Leave No Trace Do your part to protect bird habitat: Stay on trails, know where to dispose of waste, and keep fires minimal.…

When we asked writer Brooke Borel to look into early efforts to explore protecting imperiled island birds by tweaking the genetic code of their mouse predators, we hadno idea whether theNational Audubon Society had taken a position on the controversial concept, and if so what it might be. (As Borel reports near the end of “Engineering a Better Mousetrap,” the answer is essentially “We haven’t taken a stance, but Audubon scientists tend to look unfavorably on calls to ban scientific research.”) We didn’tneed to know that going in because our interest in the story had everything to do with the fact that it’s an important one that we were certain you’d find fascinating, andnothing to do with promulgating an organizational party line. Because here’s the thing: Odd as this may…

Many ecosystems in the Chicago area rely on native plants that need fire to reproduce or to hold invasive species at bay. Land managers use controlled burns to jumpstart native growth while reining in the weeds. These five birds reap the benefits. –Meghan Bartels Bird species: Henslow’s Sparrow Habitat: Large, open grasslands Invasive plant targeted: Reed canary grass Bird species: Short-eared Owl Habitat: Grasslands Invasive plant targeted: Crown vetch Bird species: Red-bellied Woodpecker Habitat: Oak savannah Invasive plant targeted: Common and glossy buckthorn Bird species: King Rail Habitat: Wetland Invasive plant targeted: Phragmites Bird species: Prothonotary Warbler Habitat: Wet woodlands Invasive plant targeted: Garlic mustard…

When a male boreal owl visits its nest, it doesn’t linger long. The hunter arrives in the dead of night to deliver prey to its mate and chicks, then immediately flies away to start the ritual again. In 2012 Markéta Zárybnická, an ecologist at the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, set out to capture these fleeting moments in detail with her colleagues. The birds are endangered in the Czech Republic, and learning more about their eating and breeding habits could help experts determine how to protect them. But because the raptors are nocturnal, little is known about their lives. “It’s very difficult to follow such a species,” Zárybnická says. So her team developed a clever solution: the Smart Nest Box, a wooden contraption that furtively films its tenants. Once…

Both people and birds need the West’s scarce water resources, but without action neither will have a reliable supply. That’s why Audubon is engaging with water users and decision makers to reach solutions that protect and restore critical sites, such as the Salton Sea, Colorado River Delta, and other Important Bird Areas. Put simply, agreements to share water in times of shortage will help to keep drinking water in faucets, agricultural water in irrigation canals, and water for wildlife in habitats to sustain us all. Please join us in calling on your members of Congress to support vital water-conservation programs in the West. For Fiscal Year 2018, Audubon recommends requests of $100 million for Western drought relief, including $25 million for Colorado River system conservation, and $30 million for the…

Vireo At first glance, vireos might seem like all of the other small, perching birds you know (they were thought to be related to warblers for a while). But the large feet, long legs, broad breast, and beak on this Hutton’s Vireo illustrate that the family is more closely related to shrikes and crows. The best way to know if a bird is a vireo, however, is to gauge how often it sings; the males are like broken records, belting up to 20,000 tunes in a single day. Warbler Warblers can be very similar to vireos in posture, shape, size, feeding style, and even name. (Yes, there’s a species called the Warbling Vireo.) Let’s take the Tennessee Warbler, for example. This bird has an olive-green back, tail, and wings and…

According to the proverb, there are two things that wait for no one: time and tide. For aspiring shorebird photographers, the latter can make all the difference. Incoming Tide Around three hours before high tide, the rising water starts to move the birds off the flats and up toward the shore. Pick a good spot, put the sun at your back, get as low as you can, and let the tide push the birds your way. High Tide With their feeding grounds flooded, the birds settle into tidal marsh areas, beaches, and along rocky shorelines. Arrive before high tide, sit low and quietly, and concentrate on the birds closest to you or that offer the best action shots. Outgoing Tide By two hours after high tide, the birds are on…

One morning this march, Ryan Zinke donned a black cowboy hat, mounted a bay roan horse named Tonto, and paraded through the streets of Washington, D.C., to his first day at work. After settling into his wood-paneled office, the new Secretary of the Interior met with 19 hook-andbullet groups, including Ducks Unlimited and the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). A portrait of Teddy Roosevelt was propped in front of his desk. The artwork was a well-placed nod to Zinke’s infatuation with America’s first conservationist president. During his confirmation hearing, the former congressman from Montana called himself an “unapologetic admirer of Roosevelt.” (Even the secretary’s Twitter bio contains a reference to #TeddyRoosevelt.) Zinke shares his idol’s environmental zeal to a modest, contemporary degree: He acknowledges climate change, supports the Land and Water…

In March 2014 Jennifer Pitt celebrated a career accomplishment in San Luis Río Colorado, Mexico, where for years the nearby riverbed had held more trash than water. Thanks to negotiations led by Pitt and others, Mexico and the United States agreed—among many other items—to release a pulse of Colorado River water that would slowly flow all the way to the sea. On the appointed day, dozens of the town’s residents gathered to clean out the channel, then settled in lawn chairs to await the river’s rebirth. By evening, Pitt says, “It became this river fiesta,” complete with men on horses prancing through the new water. Now director of Audubon’s Colorado River Program, Pitt spends her days striving to foster a similar spirit of cooperation across the river’s basin. Her team…

Frank Ruiz has always understood that humans and birds share fates. As a child growing up in southern Mexico, he watched his metalsminer father leave for work with little safety gear beyond a wet bandana tied around his face and a caged bird whose death would warn the crew to evacuate. So for Ruiz, now director of Audubon’s Salton Sea Program, it’s natural to seek a solution for the lake’s woes that will benefit both humans and birds. “We shouldn’t be picking one over the other,” he says. “When you protect the environment, you protect people.” The Salton Sea has fallen roughly six feet since 2000; by 2030, about 100 square miles of lakebed will be exposed. Ruiz envisions wetlands that reduce asthma-causing dust, offer nesting habitat to birds, and…

We awoke before dawn and dressed like duck hunters in a palette of browns, beiges, and grays. The attire was a hopeful gesture of not being seen, even inside a bird blind, on our pilgrimage to witness the great migration of Sandhill Cranes along the Platte River in Nebraska. It was a spring ritual, both human and wild. More than half a million cranes descend along this meandering river through marshes and cornfields. Thousands of visitors come to watch. Tom Mangelsen, the legendary wildlife photographer known for his Images of Nature imprint, was our guide. Tom grew up on the Nebraska prairie; Sandhill Cranes have always been part of his weather system. Now he returns each year with the cranes and shares this spectacle with others in his family’s decades-old…

IF BIRDS WERE CAST in a Broadway show, vireos would play the strong supporting characters, hitting their cues but letting the flashier actors command the spotlight. Still, there are certain species that deserve a starring role. Here are three that should be the centerpiece of your next birding adventure. Black-capped Vireo With a bold hood that contrasts its bright white mask and red eyes, the Black-capped wins best-looking vireo in my book. Specific habitat needs, however, limit its North American breeding range to just a few scrub-choked hillsides (pictured at left) in Oklahoma and central Texas. Most birders get their lifer in the Texas Hill Country, where they can also find the Golden-cheeked Warbler. Try Lost Maples State Natural Area, which is about a two-hour drive from San Antonio and…

Play Defense Resist the urge to change your lens. Each time you do, sand, salt, or water can get into your camera body or on the lens contacts. Seal Away Gear Use a camera bag that keeps your gear sealed safely away. A hotel shower cap on the camera body can fend off ocean spray and sand as you shoot. Mind the Terrain At eye level, sand can be far more uneven than it appears from overhead. Choose a position that ensures a bird’s feet aren’t concealed by mounded sand. Brush Off Sand When you head home, use a natural-bristle paintbrush to get grains of sand out of every nook and cranny of your camera. Wash Off Salt Wash your tripod right away— saltwater can cause corrosion. Peak fall migration…