Discover 探花精选 Magazine

Where the latest news about birds and conservation takes flight.
On Florida's Marco Island, families of Burrowing Owls live among the locals. Photo: Karine Aigner

探花精选 delivers essential news, advice, and reporting on birds and bird conservation.

Pairing compelling journalism with stunning photography and design, each quarterly issue helps readers grow their appreciation of birds and learn how to help them thrive. Our editorial team also reports and publishes stories on 探花精选.org daily, including science and conservation news, birding tips, photo galleries, and interactive reader experiences. In print and digital, through stories and visuals, 探花精选 emphasizes the importance of a diverse and inclusive science and conservation effort to help meet the challenges facing both birds and people today.

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Read the Entire Summer 2025 Issue
A plover chick peeks out from under its parent's feathers on a rocky beach.
Read the Entire Summer 2025 Issue

Inside: Using hi-tech trackers to spy on Mallards. A decades-long campaign helps Piping Plovers reach new heights. How smart feeders connect us to local birdlife鈥攁nd each other. The Native-led raptor center protecting sacred species and traditions. In Alaska, a push for more industry threatens irreplaceable habitats. You, too, can have a hummer summer. Read these stories and more.

Highlighted Feature Stories
North Carolina's Cape Fear River Is a 鈥楩orever Chemical鈥 Hotspot鈥擶hat Does That Mean for Its Birds and People?
North Carolina's Cape Fear River Is a 鈥楩orever Chemical鈥 Hotspot鈥擶hat Does That Mean for Its Birds and People?

Amid mounting global health concerns about PFAS, communities living along the waterway must grapple with how contamination is affecting life on the river. Yet as hard as it is to conduct health studies on humans, it鈥檚 even harder with wild animals.

Latest News and Articles
Brown goo coats several sticks with leaves and other debris trapped in it.
Poaching Birds Is Big Money for the Mafia in Cyprus鈥攂ut a Brave Few Are Fighting Back
May 22, 2024 — The beautiful, politically complicated Mediterranean island continues to play an outsize role in Europe鈥檚 songbird-poaching problem. Despite numerous dangers and even threats against their lives, a group of dedicated conservationists are trying to turn things around.
A vast forest stretches out to a pale blue horizon. In and amidst the trees are a few dozen Wood Storks.
Building Momentum
May 22, 2024 — Across the hemisphere, our conservation successes grow under our Flight Plan.
Illustration of a shorebird standing on a rock in water in front of a low sun.
One Team's Mission to Recover the Indigenous Names of Ontario鈥檚 Birds
May 21, 2024 — In the Anishinaabemowin language, bird names are embedded with traditional knowledge. An ongoing project is trying to document as many as possible before they are lost.
A few copies of the Alameda Sun sit on a mostly empty newspaper rack.
The Local Journalism Crisis Is Bad News for the Planet
May 21, 2024 — Newspapers across the country are dying off at a rapid pace鈥攁 loss that carries real risks for their communities and the environment.
A wind turbine with one black blade in a field against a bright blue sky.
A Surprisingly Simple Solution to Protect Birds From Wind Turbines Gets its Biggest Test Yet
May 21, 2024 — Painting one turbine blade black has shown promise for preventing collisions. Now researchers are seeing if it can work in Wyoming.
A wall made of logs and branches divides a forest scene. On the left, one person stands in thick growth. On the right, two people stand in a more open area.
Surging Deer Populations Are a Crisis for Eastern Forests
May 21, 2024 — Important habitats for many bird species 鈥榓re in imminent danger of collapse,鈥 one expert warns, and the federal government may need to step in.
A Golden Eagle standing on a frozen river looks back over its shoulder at the camera.
The East Has Its Own Golden Eagles, and Advocates Say They Need Help
May 16, 2024 — Though apparently stable, the eastern population faces evolving threats, experts say. One group is asking the federal government to list the birds as threatened.
A loon sits among plants at the edge of a pond.
Heavy Downpours Are a Growing Threat to Common Loons
May 15, 2024 — Last summer鈥檚 record rainfall flooded nests across the Northeast, an increasingly common hazard that is hampering loon reproduction. Protecting healthy habitat and providing artificial nest rafts can help, researchers say.
A black and white collage of photos of people, birds, Bambi, and a wolf.
A Tour of 125 Years of History Through the Bird Lens
May 14, 2024 — Since its founding in 1899, 鈥樚交ň♀ magazine鈥檚 coverage responded to wars, economic crises, innovations, novel threats, and much more.
An Osprey in flight against a blue sky holding a fish in its talon.
Researchers Sound the Alarm Over the Chesapeake Bay鈥檚 Ospreys
May 13, 2024 — In the world鈥檚 largest population of the fish-eating raptors, reproductive rates have fallen below DDT-era lows. Scientists say overfishing by one company is to blame.

Find a Read

探花精选 magazine publishes a variety of story types in print and online. Peruse鈥攁nd enjoy鈥攋ust a sampling of our work below. 

Investigations
A New Plastic Wave Is Coming to Our Shores
A New Plastic Wave Is Coming to Our Shores

A glut of natural gas has led to a U.S. production surge in tiny plastic pellets, called nurdles, that are washing up on coasts by the millions.

Profiles
The Remarkable Life of Roxie Laybourne
The Remarkable Life of Roxie Laybourne

From deep within the Smithsonian, the world鈥檚 first forensic ornithologist cracked cases, busted criminals, and changed the course of aviation鈥攎aking the skies safer for us all.

Essays
What a Songbird Lost at Sea Taught Me About Survival
What a Songbird Lost at Sea Taught Me About Survival

Aboard a mission to explore the alien life of the deep ocean, a chance encounter with a migratory bird offered a point of connection鈥攐ne that has felt poignant this past year. 聽

Remembering Toni Morrison, the Bird Whisperer
Remembering Toni Morrison, the Bird Whisperer

A year after Morrison鈥檚 passing, a journalist and birder reflects on how her time with the cherished author changed her relationship with birds鈥攁nd with herself.

The 探花精选 Guide to Climate Action
The 探花精选 Guide to Climate Action

Feeling like you can鈥檛 make a difference? That couldn鈥檛 be further from the truth. Our award-winning guide shows you where to begin and how to 颅amplify your efforts to make lasting change in the world.

Dispatches

The 2024 探花精选 Photo Awards: Top 100

Revel in the staggering beauty and surprising behaviors featured in this gallery of our favorite images.

Hooded Merganser. Photo: Edwin Liu/探花精选 Photography Awards
Photo Essays
Birding Advice and News
Bird Books and Culture
A New Book Explores Our Disdain for Pests
A New Book Explores Our Disdain for Pests

Journalist Bethany Brookshire argues that the idea of a 鈥減est鈥 is more about humans鈥 view of unwanted animals than the critters themselves.

The 探花精选 Bird Guide
Varied Bunting
Cardinals, Grosbeaks and Buntings
Bachman's Sparrow
New World Sparrows
Willet
Sandpipers
Pygmy Nuthatch
Nuthatches