Field Notes

Mounds of stored rock salt minimize a large piece of machinery.
As Salt Coats Snowy Roadways In Winter, Freshwater Ecosystems Pay a Heavy Price
December 13, 2022 — Keeping paved surfaces clear of snow and ice comes at an accumulating cost to lakes, streams, and drinking water supplies.
A hummingbird with a green body and bright iridescent magenta feathers on its head and throat perches on a branch.
The Vibrant Colors of Hummingbirds Are More Impressive Than We’d Realized
December 13, 2022 — Scientists catalogued the hues of 114 avian species. Humans can’t see every shade, but birds can.
Four columns made of various colors that represent the plumages of four bird species.
This Artist’s Paint-Swatch Portraits Reveal the Beauty of Bird Plumage
December 13, 2022 — With time on his hands, Christopher Reiger found a colorful way to depict a rich variety of birds.
Standing in a meadow of yellow goldenrod, Lang Elliott listens for bird calls with a headset on.
A New App Brings Birdsong Back to People With High-Frequency Hearing Loss
December 13, 2022 — Hear Birds Again, an iPhone app, is only the latest in Lang Elliott’s long line of inventions to solve a challenge that affects more birders as they age.
Bridget Butler smiles looking towards the camera with binoculars around her neck, surrounded by trees.
Vermont's Birders and Landowners Are Joining Forces to Contribute to Science
September 21, 2022 — A new program recruits volunteers to survey breeding birds that would otherwise go uncounted.
A group of nine people stand in front of a small wooden building surrounded by forest on a sunny day.
Who Runs the Forest? Increasingly, in the Southeast, It’s Women
September 20, 2022 — New groups are cultivating communities of women who manage their trees with economic and ecosystem sustainability in mind.
From Ground to Orbit, Space Industry’s Lift-Off Sparks Environmental Concerns
September 19, 2022 — As more rockets take flight, how will we protect life at home?
The Buried Treasure in Panama’s Mangrove Forests: the Carbon They Store
July 07, 2022 — These ecosystems feed and shelter migrating birds and surrounding communities—and help fight climate change. By tapping into that value, conservationists seek to ensure they’ll continue doing so.
Miles of drying mudflats are shown as waterbirds fly over head in the far distance.
The Great Salt Lake Is Too Big—and Too Important—to Fail
June 21, 2022 — Utah’s leaders and advocates are mobilizing to save the largest saline lake ecosystem in the Western Hemisphere, a haven for people and migrating birds. Time and water are running out.
How Protecting Habitats Could Help Prevent Future Pandemics
July 13, 2020 — Wildlife health is not separate from our own. To forestall new infectious "spillover" events, experts are looking to familiar conservation tools.